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right (adj.1)

"morally correct," Old English riht "just, good, fair; proper, fitting; straight, not bent, direct, erect," from Proto-Germanic *rehtan (source also of Old Frisian riucht "right," Old Saxon reht, Middle Dutch and Dutch recht, Old High German reht, German recht, Old Norse rettr, Gothic raihts), from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," also "to rule, to lead straight, to put right" (source also of Greek orektos "stretched out, upright;" Latin rectus "straight, right;" Old Persian rasta- "straight; right," aršta- "rectitude;" Old Irish recht "law;" Welsh rhaith, Breton reiz "just, righteous, wise").

Compare slang straight (adj.1) "honest, morally upright," and Latin rectus "right," literally "straight," Lithuanian teisus "right, true," literally "straight." Greek dikaios "just" (in the moral and legal sense) is from dike "custom." As an emphatic, meaning "you are right," it is recorded from 1580s; use as a question meaning "am I not right?" is from 1961. The sense in right whale is "justly entitled to the name." Right stuff "best human ingredients" is from 1848, popularized by Tom Wolfe's 1979 book about the first astronauts. Right of way is attested from 1767. Right angle is from late 14c.

right (adj.2)

"opposite of left," early 12c., riht, from Old English riht, which did not have this sense but meant "good, proper, fitting, straight" (see right (adj.1)). The notion is of the right hand as the "correct" hand. The usual Old English word for this was swiþra, literally "stronger." "The history of words for 'right' and 'left' shows that they were used primarily with reference to the hands" [Buck]. Similar sense evolution in Dutch recht, German recht "right (not left)," from Old High German reht, which meant only "straight, just." Compare Latin rectus "straight; right," also from the same PIE root.

The usual PIE root (*dek-) is represented by Latin dexter (see dexterity). Other derivations on a similar pattern to English right are French droit, from Latin directus "straight;" Lithuanian labas, literally "good;" and Slavic words (Bohemian pravy, Polish prawy, Russian pravyj) from Old Church Slavonic pravu, literally "straight," from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before, first, chief."

The political sense of "conservative" is first recorded 1794 (adj.), 1825 (n.), a translation of French Droit "the Right, Conservative Party" in the French National Assembly (1789; see left (adj.)).

right (v.)

Old English rihtan "to straighten, rule, set up, set right, amend; guide, govern; restore, replace," from riht (adj.); see right (adj.1). Compare Old Norse retta "to straighten," Old Saxon rihtian, Old Frisian riuchta, German richten, Gothic garaihtjan. Related: Righted; righting.

right (n.)

Old English riht (West Saxon, Kentish), reht (Anglian), "that which is morally right, duty, obligation," also "rule of conduct; law of a land;" also "what someone deserves; a just claim, what is due; correctness, truth; a legal entitlement, a privilege," from the root of right (adj.1). Meaning "the right" (as opposed to the left) is from mid-13c.; political use from 1825. From early 14c. as "a right action, a good deed." Meaning "a blow with the right fist" is from 1898. The phrase to rights "at once, straightway" is 1660s, from sense "in a proper manner" (Middle English).

right (adv.)

Old English rehte, rihte "in a straight or direct manner," from right (adj.1). Right on! as an exclamation of approval first recorded 1925 in African-American vernacular, popularized mid-1960s by Black Panther movement.

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Definitions of right from WordNet
1
right (adj.)
(of the side of cloth or clothing) facing or intended to face outward;
the right side of the cloth showed the pattern
be sure your shirt is right side out
right (adj.)
(informal) very; used informally as an intensifier;
a right fine day
Synonyms: one
right (adj.)
being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the east when facing north;
the right bank of a river is the bank on your right side when you are facing downstream
my right hand
a right-hand turn
right center field
right (adj.)
free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth;
the right decision
took the right road
the right answer
Synonyms: correct
right (adj.)
socially right or correct;
it isn't right to leave the party without saying goodbye
Synonyms: correct
right (adj.)
in conformance with justice or law or morality;
do the right thing and confess
right (adj.)
correct in opinion or judgment;
time proved him right
Synonyms: correct
right (adj.)
appropriate for a condition or purpose or occasion or a person's character, needs;
the right man for the job
Synonyms: proper
right (adj.)
of or belonging to the political or intellectual right;
right (adj.)
in or into a satisfactory condition;
things are right again now
put things right
right (adj.)
in accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure;
the right way to open oysters
what's the right word for this?
Synonyms: correct
right (adj.)
having the axis perpendicular to the base;
a right angle
right (adj.)
most suitable or right for a particular purpose;
the right time to act
Synonyms: good / ripe
right (adj.)
precisely accurate;
Synonyms: veracious
2
right (adv.)
precisely, exactly;
stand right here!
right (adv.)
immediately;
she called right after dinner
right (adv.)
exactly;
Synonyms: flop
right (adv.)
toward or on the right; also used figuratively;
he looked right and left
the party has moved right
right (adv.)
in the right manner; correctly; suitably;
Synonyms: properly / decently / decent
right (adv.)
an interjection expressing agreement;
Synonyms: right on
right (adv.)
(Southern regional intensive) very; to a great degree;
they have a right nice place
Synonyms: mighty / mightily / powerful
right (adv.)
in accordance with moral or social standards;
that serves him right
do right by him
Synonyms: justly
right (adv.)
in an accurate manner;
he guessed right
Synonyms: correctly / aright
right (adv.)
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly');
he fell right into the trap
she felt right at home
Synonyms: wholly / entirely / completely / totally / all / altogether / whole
3
right (n.)
an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature; "Certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people"- Eleanor Roosevelt; "a right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away";
right (n.)
location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the side to the south when a person or object faces east;
he stood on the right
right (n.)
the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right;
Synonyms: right field / rightfield
right (n.)
those who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchanged;
Synonyms: right wing
right (n.)
the hand that is on the right side of the body;
he writes with his right hand but pitches with his left
hit him with quick rights to the body
Synonyms: right hand
right (n.)
a turn toward the side of the body that is on the south when the person is facing east;
take a right at the corner
right (n.)
anything in accord with principles of justice;
he feels he is in the right
Synonyms: rightfulness
right (n.)
(frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing;
film rights
mineral rights
4
right (v.)
make reparations or amends for;
right a wrongs done to the victims of the Holocaust
Synonyms: compensate / redress / correct
right (v.)
put in or restore to an upright position;
They righted the sailboat that had capsized
right (v.)
regain an upright or proper position;
The capsized boat righted again
right (v.)
make right or correct;
Synonyms: correct / rectify
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near right

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rigging

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right hand

right wing

righteous

righteousness

rightful

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