Etymograph

English

upright

Upright comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-1‘to straighten’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*upprehtaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*uppreht2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150upriht1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500upright1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1608upright1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English upright
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English upriht
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1608, William Shakespeare, The merry Deuill of Edmonton: “Fab[ell]: What meanes the tolling of this fatall chime,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-Wiktionary, English upright‘to straighten’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*upprehtazWiktionary, English uprightreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*upprehtWiktionary, Old English uprihtreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150uprihtWiktionary, English upright
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500uprightWiktionary, English upright
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1608uprightWiktionary, English upright. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1608, William Shakespeare, The merry Deuill of Edmonton: “Fab[ell]: What meanes the tolling of this fatall chime,…”

Linked words

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

real, director, source, region, regular, rule, direction, address, direct, royal, correct, dress, rich, rank, regime, arrangement, roy, radar, arrange, rack, ana, rex, rogue, regulate, resurrection, interrogation, raj, erect, regent, rake, rector, regal, regency, insurrection, rectify, anorexia, righteous, rani, rectum, rightly, 105 more

Today it means

adj Vertical; erect.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “upright”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English upriht. 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- / upright

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