Etymograph

English

straight up

Straight up comes from Middle English streight up ‘straight, erect, not curved or crooked,…’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streight up1‘straight, erect, not curved or crooked, direct, honest’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1984straight up1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English straight up
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1984, Joe Biden, Women in Development: Looking to the Future: “I support what you are attempting to do, but…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streight upWiktionary, English straight up‘straight, erect, not curved or crooked, direct, honest’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1984straight upWiktionary, English straight up. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1984, Joe Biden, Women in Development: Looking to the Future: “I support what you are attempting to do, but…”

Every English word from Middle English streight up

Today it means

adv Truthfully; honestly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “straight up”. 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 / Middle English streight up / straight up

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