publisher vs proprietor

publisher and proprietor both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
publisher	Yes	No	No	No
proprietor	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, proprietor is a hypernym of publisher; that is, proprietor is a word with a broader meaning than publisher:

Other hypernyms of publisher include owner.

publisher (noun)	proprietor (noun)
a firm in the publishing business	(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
a person engaged in publishing periodicals or books or music
the proprietor of a newspaper