propriety
proper behavior or fitness
Root
- propr / proper: own, proper, or fitting
Other words with the propr / proper root
- appropriate: suitable or proper for the situation
- proper: fitting or correct
- property: something owned; a quality belonging to something
Propriety is properness in conduct: behavior fitted to the moment.
The joke failed because propriety mattered more than cleverness in that room.
Proper and property keep propr clear: what belongs, what fits, what is one's own. Propriety applies that fittedness to conduct.