right

right
\ \ [OE] Right goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *reg- ‘move in a straight line’, hence ‘direct’, hence ‘rule’, which also produced English rich and Latin rēxking’ (source of English regal, royal, etc).
\ \ Combination with the past participial suffix *-to- resulted in Latin rēctusstraight, right’, which lies behind English rectify, rectum, etc, and prehistoric Germanic *rekhtaz, which has evolved into German and Dutch recht, Swedish rätt, Danish ret, and English right. The use of the word as the opposite of left, paralleled in German and Dutch but not in the Scandinavian languages, derives from the notion that the right hand is the ‘correct’ hand to use. (French droitright’ goes back to Latin dīrēctus, a derivative of rēctus.) The derived righteous [OE] etymologically means ‘in the right way’; it was compounded in the Old English period from rihtright’ and wīsway’ (ancestor of the modern English suffix -wise).
\ \ Cf.ADDRESS, DIRECT, RAJ, RECTOR, REGAL, REGIMENT, ROYAL

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • right — / rīt/ n [Old English riht, from riht righteous] 1 a: qualities (as adherence to duty or obedience to lawful authority) that together constitute the ideal of moral propriety or merit moral approval b: something that is morally just able to… …   Law dictionary

  • Right — • Substantive designating the object of justice Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Right     Right     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Right — (r[imac]t), a. [OE. right, riht, AS. riht; akin to D. regt, OS. & OHG. reht, G. recht, Dan. ret, Sw. r[ a]tt, Icel. r[ e]ttr, Goth. ra[ i]hts, L. rectus, p. p. of regere to guide, rule; cf. Skr. [.r]ju straight, right. [root]115. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • right — [rīt] adj. [ME < OE riht, straight, direct, right, akin to Ger recht < IE base * reĝ , straight, stretch out, put in order > RICH, RECKON, L regere, to rule, rex, king, regula, a rule] 1. Obs. not curved; straight: now only in… …   English World dictionary

  • Right — Right, adv. 1. In a right manner. [1913 Webster] 2. In a right or straight line; directly; hence; straightway; immediately; next; as, he stood right before me; it went right to the mark; he came right out; he followed right after the guide. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Right — Right, n. [AS. right. See {Right}, a.] 1. That which is right or correct. Specifically: (a) The straight course; adherence to duty; obedience to lawful authority, divine or human; freedom from guilt, the opposite of moral wrong. (b) A true… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • right — right, rightly 1. Right is used as an adverb meaning ‘in the right way, in a proper manner’ with a number of verbs, notably do right, go right (as in Nothing went right), guess right, spell something right, treat someone right. In general,… …   Modern English usage

  • right — [adj1] fair, just appropriate, condign, conscientious, deserved, due, equitable, ethical, fitting, good, honest, honorable, justifiable, lawful, legal, legitimate, merited, moral, proper, requisite, righteous, rightful, scrupulous, standup*,… …   New thesaurus

  • right — ► ADJECTIVE 1) on, towards, or relating to the side of a human body or of a thing which is to the east when the person or thing is facing north. 2) morally good, justified, or acceptable. 3) factually correct. 4) most appropriate: the right man… …   English terms dictionary

  • right — adj 1 *good Antonyms: wrong 2 *correct, accurate, exact, precise, nice Analogous words: fitting, proper, meet (see FIT): *decorous, decent, seemly Antonyms: wrong …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Right — Right, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Righted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Righting}.] [AS. rihtan. See {Right}, a.] 1. To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight (that which has been wrong or crooked); to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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