proprietaries

Noun

proprietary (plural proprietaries)

1. A proprietor or owner.
   • 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 condition1647, 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. A company doing legitimate business while also serving as a front for espionage.
   • 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

See all 11 meanings of proprietary