Definitions

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

  • noun Proximity; nearness.
  • noun Kinship.
  • noun Similarity in nature.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Nearness in place; neighborhood.
  • noun Nearness in time.
  • noun Nearness of blood; kindred.

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

  • noun Nearness in place; neighborhood; proximity.
  • noun Nearness in time.
  • noun Nearness of blood; kindred; affinity.

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

  • noun Nearness or proximity.
  • noun Affiliation or similarity.

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

  • noun the property of being close together

Etymologies

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

[Middle English propinquite, from Old French, from Latin propinquitās, from propinquus, near; see per in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French propinquité or Latin propinquitas, from propinquus ‘neighbouring’ (from prope ‘near’).

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Examples

  • But it is not the way for a man and a woman, in propinquity, to maintain a definite, unwavering distance asunder.

    CHAPTER XXVII 2010

  • Carey, so powerful in propinquity, might even have ended by learning to love Tannis and marrying her, to his own worldly undoing.

    Further Chronicles of Avonlea Lucy Maud 1920

  • But it is not the way for a man and a woman, in propinquity, to maintain a definite, unwavering distance asunder.

    The Little Lady of the Big House, by Jack London 1916

  • He was not only the male heir in propinquity of blood, but his experienced years and known virtues excited all true Scots to place him on the throne.

    The Scottish Chiefs 1875

  • Eight weeks came and went, -- eight wonderfully happy weeks to Debby and her friend; for "propinquity" had worked more wonders than poor Mrs. Carroll knew, as the only one she saw or guessed was the utter captivation of Joe Leavenworth.

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863 Various

  • It may have been the effect of what Byron would call "blind contact," and the sage Mrs. Broadhurst "propinquity;" or it may have been that his hour was come.

    The Partisan Leader: A Novel... 1862

  • The father and mother sat -- not side by side, in that propinquity which is so sweet, when every breath, every touch of the beloved's garment gives pleasure; they sat one at each corner of the table, engrossed in their several occupations; reading with an uncommunicative eagerness, and sewing in unbroken silence.

    Olive A Novel Dinah Maria Mulock Craik 1856

  • I used to joke, “Nothing propinques like propinquity.”

    The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010

  • I used to joke, “Nothing propinques like propinquity.”

    The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010

  • I used to joke, “Nothing propinques like propinquity.”

    The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010

Comments

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  • "Why did I keep going back and why did I give it two stars? As Zelda Gilroy used to say on Dobie Gillis: propinquity. And I like the lighting." (Yelp)

    October 12, 2007

  • I hear this word when I am stalked by penguins.

    March 26, 2009

  • Does that happen frequently?

    March 26, 2009

  • Too often. Evil-minded penguins are everywhere.

    March 26, 2009

  • Not all penguins are evil. Some of them bring gifts:

    bizarre spheniscidine confectionery dispenser videorama

    March 26, 2009

  • Penguins rock.

    March 26, 2009

  • I concur. Especially rockhopper penguins.

    March 26, 2009

  • I like 6ft albino penguins myself.

    March 26, 2009

  • *wonders whether yarb nibbled on the same toadstool as John over on goll-ee*

    March 26, 2009

  • From "Au Tombeau de Charles Fourier" by Guy Davenport

    January 19, 2010

  • "As objects of beauty, these works held little interest for him, and yet in spite of himself he had become attached in a propinquital way to a few of the carvings." From Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake.

    February 12, 2011

  • on Wikipedia

    October 26, 2011