A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1558-1599
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Improper, -ir, -re, a. [e.m.E. improper, -re (1531).] Improper, unsuitable, unfit. — 1558 Q. Kennedy Tractive 125.
Thair is ane uther commoun saying … quhilk … appeirs to me not impropir nor improffitable for our purpose 1558-66 Knox II. 297.
Albeit ye think that scoiff propir, yit as it is most untreu, so is it most improper 1587-99 Hume 74/189.
The censor is impropre to correck That in himselfe hes ony kinde of bleck
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"Improper adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 12 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/improper_adj>
