4. A proper noun is a name applied to a particular object, whether
person, place, or thing.
It specializes or limits the thing to which it is applied, reducing it
to a narrow application. Thus, _city_ is a word applied to any one of
its kind; but _Chicago_ names one city, and fixes the attention upon
that particular city. _King_ may be applied to any ruler of a kingdom,
but _Alfred the Great_ is the name of one king only.
The word _proper_ is from a Latin word meaning _limited, belonging to
one_. This does not imply, however, that a proper name can be applied
to only one object, but that each time such a name is applied it is
fixed or proper to that object. Even if there are several Bostons or
Manchesters, the name of each is an individual or proper name.
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