Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Suitable for a particular person, condition, occasion, or place; fitting.
  • transitive verb To set apart for a specific use.
  • transitive verb To take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Set apart for a particular use or person; hence, belonging peculiarly; suitable; fit; befitting; proper.
  • Synonyms Apt, becoming, in keeping, felicitous.
  • noun Peculiar characteristic; attribute; proper function; property.
  • To take to one's self in exclusion of others; claim or use as by an exclusive right: as, let no man appropriate the use of a common benefit.
  • In general, to take for any use; put to use.
  • To set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use, in exclusion of all other purposes or uses: as, Congress appropriated more money than was needed; to appropriate a spot of ground for a garden.
  • In ecclesiastical law, to annex, as a benefice, to an ecclesiastical corporation, for its perpetual use.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Set apart for a particular use or person. Hence: Belonging peculiarly; peculiar; suitable; fit; proper.
  • noun obsolete A property; attribute.
  • transitive verb To take to one's self in exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right.
  • transitive verb To set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use, in exclusion of all others; -- with to or for
  • transitive verb Archaic To make suitable; to suit.
  • transitive verb (Eng. Eccl. Law) To annex, as a benefice, to a spiritual corporation, as its property.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective obsolete Set apart for a particular use or person; reserved.
  • adjective Hence, belonging peculiarly; peculiar; suitable; fit; proper.
  • adjective Suitable to the social situation or to social respect or social discreetness; socially correct; socially discreet; well-mannered; proper.
  • verb transitive, archaic To make suitable; to suit. -- William Paley.
  • verb transitive To take to one's self in exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right; as, "let no man appropriate the use of a common benefit."
  • verb transitive To set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use, in exclusion of all others;—with to or for; as, a spot of ground is appropriated for a garden; to appropriate money for the increase of the navy.
  • verb transitive, UK, ecclesiastical, law To annex, as a benefice, to a spiritual corporation, as its property. --Blackstone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
  • adjective suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc
  • verb take possession of by force, as after an invasion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English appropriat, from Late Latin appropriātus, past participle of appropriāre, to make one's own : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin proprius, own; see per in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English appropriaten, from Latin appropriatus, past participle of approprio ("to make one's own"), from ad ("to") + proprio ("to make one's own"), from proprius ("one's own, private").

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Examples

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  • I like this word since hearing it in a song by Alanis Morissette (All I really want): "My sweater is on backwards and inside out. And you say how appropriate"...

    October 30, 2007

  • Appropriate funds; approriate conduct

    November 22, 2007

  • ApPropriaTe

    April 24, 2008