Definition of "proprietary"

proprietary

/pɹəˈpɹaɪ.ə.tə.ɹi/

adjective
comparative more proprietary, superlative most proprietary
1. Of or relating to property or ownership.
2. Owning something; having ownership.
3. Created or manufactured exclusively by the owner of intellectual property rights, as with a patent or trade secret.
  Quotations
  It was reported that the recipes for the secret sauce and grinder sandwiches were proprietary, known only to the current president of the corporation and the former owner of the restaurant.
  1996, Michael Craig Budden, Protecting Trade Secrets under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act: Practical Advice for Executives, Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books, page 20
4. Nonstandard and controlled by one particular organization.
5. Privately owned.
6. (of a person) Possessive, jealous, or territorial.
noun
plural proprietaries
1. A proprietor or owner.
  Quotations
  Wherefore what issue soever shall result from my mind , by his means most happily married to a retired life , must , of due , redound to his honour , as the sole proprietary of my pains during my present condition
  1647, Thomas Fuller, The Cause and Cure of a Wounded Conscience
2. A body of proprietors, taken collectively.
3. The rights of a proprietor.
4. A monk who had reserved goods and belongings to himself, notwithstanding his renunciation of all at the time of profession.
5. (espionage) A company doing legitimate business while also serving as a front for espionage.
  Quotations
  For all practical purposes, the proprietaries conduct their own financial affairs with a minimum of oversight from CIA headquarters.
  1975, Victor Marchetti, John D. Marks, The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence, page 159
  The “operating proprietaries” actually do business as private firms. They are incorporated where they are officed, they file the applicable state and federal tax returns, and they obtain the licenses necessary to a legitimate business operation.
  2013, Joseph Goulden, The Dictionary of Espionage: Spyspeak into English, page 175