Etymograph

English

righter

Righter comes from Old English rihtere ‘a ruler’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *rehtārijaz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtārijaz1reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150rihtere1‘a ruler’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*rightere1reconstructed
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1612–1620righter1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English righter
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1612–1620, Miguel de Cervantes, London: […] William Stansby: “righter of wrongs”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rehtārijazWiktionary, English righterreconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150rihtereWiktionary, English righter‘a ruler’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*rightereWiktionary, English righterreconstructed
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1612–1620righterWiktionary, English righter. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1612–1620, Miguel de Cervantes, London: […] William Stansby: “righter of wrongs”

Formed from right + -er

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

…

Proto-Germanic *rehtaz ‘right’

Proto-West Germanic *reht ‘straight’

Old English reht

Middle English reȝt

English right

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *rehtārijaz

Today it means

noun Someone who puts right; someone who does justice or redresses wrong.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “righter”. 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-Germanic *rehtārijaz / righter

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