diff --git a/lib/prop_parser.js b/lib/prop_parser.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3776be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/prop_parser.js
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/**
+ * Property keyword parser module
+ *
+ *  Copyright (C) 2010 Mike Gerwitz
+ *
+ *  This file is part of ease.js.
+ *
+ *  ease.js is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ *  terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
+ *  Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option)
+ *  any later version.
+ *
+ *  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ *  ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ *  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ *  for more details.
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ *  along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * @author  Mike Gerwitz
+ * @package core
+ */
+
+
+/**
+ * Parses property keywords
+ *
+ * @param  {string}  prop  property string, which may contain keywords
+ *
+ * @return  {{name: string, keywords: Object.<string, boolean>}}
+ */
+exports.parse = function ( prop )
+{
+    var name        = prop,
+        keywords    = [],
+        keyword_obj = {};
+
+    prop = ''+( prop );
+
+    if ( prop.length > 8 )
+    {
+        if ( prop[ 8 ] === ' ' )
+        {
+            // the keywords are all words, except for the last, which is the
+            // property name
+            keywords = prop.split( ' ' );
+            name     = keywords.pop();
+
+            var i = keywords.length;
+            while ( i-- )
+            {
+                keyword_obj[ keywords[ i ] ] = true;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    return {
+        name:     name,
+        keywords: keyword_obj,
+    };
+}
diff --git a/lib/util.js b/lib/util.js
index fc01f60..0fa2e51 100644
--- a/lib/util.js
+++ b/lib/util.js
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
  * @package core
  */
 
+var propParse = require( './prop_parser' ).parse;
+
 
 /**
  * Whether getters/setters are supported
@@ -154,7 +156,7 @@ exports.propParse = function( data, options )
         callback_method = options.method        || fvoid,
         callback_getter = options.getter        || fvoid,
         callback_setter = options.setter        || fvoid,
-        keyword_parser  = options.keywordParser || propKeywordStringParser,
+        keyword_parser  = options.keywordParser || propParse,
 
         hasOwn = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty,
 
@@ -472,45 +474,6 @@ exports.arrayShrink = function( items )
 }
 
 
-/**
- * Parses property keywords
- *
- * @param  {string}  prop  property string, which may contain keywords
- *
- * @return  {{name: string, keywords: Object.<string, boolean>}}
- */
-function propKeywordStringParser( prop )
-{
-    var name        = prop,
-        keywords    = [],
-        keyword_obj = {};
-
-    prop = ''+( prop );
-
-    if ( prop.length > 8 )
-    {
-        if ( prop[ 8 ] === ' ' )
-        {
-            // the keywords are all words, except for the last, which is the
-            // property name
-            keywords = prop.split( ' ' );
-            name     = keywords.pop();
-
-            var i = keywords.length;
-            while ( i-- )
-            {
-                keyword_obj[ keywords[ i ] ] = true;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    return {
-        name:     name,
-        keywords: keyword_obj,
-    };
-}
-
-
 /**
  * Appropriately returns defineSecureProp implementation to avoid check on each
  * invocation
diff --git a/tools/combine b/tools/combine
index ebd4dad..1a0e6ff 100755
--- a/tools/combine
+++ b/tools/combine
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ TPL_VAR='/**{CONTENT}**/'
 RMTRAIL="$PATH_TOOLS/rmtrail"
 
 # order matters
-CAT_MODULES="util class interface"
+CAT_MODULES="prop_parser util class interface"
 
 ##
 # Output template header