Etymograph

English

right

Right comes from Middle English reȝt, from Old English reht, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, ultimately from PIE *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-1‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵtós1‘right’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtaz1‘right’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*reht1‘straight’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150reht1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reȝt1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1610right1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English right
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding: “If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-Wiktionary, English right‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵtósWiktionary, English right‘right’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtazWiktionary, English right‘right’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rehtWiktionary, English right‘straight’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150rehtWiktionary, English right
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reȝtWiktionary, English right
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1610rightWiktionary, English right. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding: “If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the…”

The story

The Germanic adjective which has been used also as a noun since the common Germanic period.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with right, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’

  • real ← rēgālis ← rēx ← *rēks ← *h₃rḗǵs
  • director ← directeur ← dīrēctōrem ← dīrēctus ← dīrigō
  • source ← sours ← sorse ← surgō ← surrigō
  • region ← regioun ← regiun ← regiō ← regō
  • regular ← reguler ← reguler ← rēgulāris ← rēgula
  • rule ← reule ← riule ← regula ← regō
  • direction ← direccioun ← direccion ← dīrēctiō ← dīrigō
  • direct ← dīrēctus ← dīrigō ← regō ← *regō
  • royal ← roial ← rēgālis ← rēx ← *rēks
  • correct ← correctus
  • dress ← dressen ← dresser ← *dīrēctiāre ← dīrēctus
  • rich ← riche ← rīċe ← *rīkī ← *rīkijaz

138 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of right

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵtós‘right, straightened’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtazreconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtareconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150rihte
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500right
  7. Englishtodayright

Another origin of right

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵt-‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵtomreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtą‘a right’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*reht‘right, privilege’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150riht‘that which is right, just, or proper’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500right‘a good deed’
  7. Englishtodayright

Another origin of right

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵtós‘right, straightened’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtaz‘straight’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rihtijaną‘to straighten’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rihtijan‘to straighten to set straight’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150rihtan‘to straighten, judge, set upright, set right’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500righten
  8. Englishtodayright

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Today it means

adj Designating the side of the body which is positioned to the east if one is facing north, the side on which the heart is not located in most humans. This arrow points to the reader's right: →

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “right”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- / right