de·co·rum
(dĭ-kôŕəm, -kōŕ-)
[Latin decōrum, from decōrus, becoming, handsome; see decorous.]
noun
- Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety: “In the Ireland of the 1940's … the stolidity of a long, empty, grave face was thought to be the height of decorum and profundity” (John McGahern)
- The conventions or requirements of polite behavior: the formalities and decorums of a military funeral.
- The appropriateness of an element of an artistic or literary work, such as style or tone, to its particular circumstance or to the composition as a whole.