Right | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Right, a.

adjective

(rīt), a. [A-S. rīht, reht, O. Sax. & O. H. Ger. reht, Goth. raihts, D. regt, N. H. Ger. recht, Dan. ret, Sw. rätt, Icel. rettr, Lat. rectus, p. p. of regere, to keep straight, or from going wrong, to guide, to rule.]

Sense 1. Straight; not crooked; as, a right line; hence, most direct; as, the right way from London to Oxford.

Sense 2. Upright; erect; not oblique; as, right ascension; a right sphere.

Sense 3. Conformed to the constitution of man and the will of God; never deviating from the true and just; according with truth and duty; unswerving; just; true.

That which is conformable to the Supreme Rule is absolutely right, and is called right simply without relation to a special end. The opposite to right is wrong. Whately.

Sense 4. Fit; suitable; proper; becoming.

Sense 5. Characterized by reality or genuineness; real; actual; unquestionable.

In this battle, . . . the Britons never more plainly manifested themselves to be right barbarians. Milton.

Sense 6. According with truth; passing a true judgment; not mistaken or wrong; correct.

You are right, justice, and you weigh this well. Shak.

If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the inference is certainly right, “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.” Locke.

Sense 7. Most favorable or convenient.

The lady has been disappointed on the right side. Spectator.

Sense 8. Not left, but its opposite; most convenient or dexterous; as, the right hand, which is generally the stronger of the two, or more convenient in use.

Sense 9. Being on the same side as the right hand; as, the right side.

Sense 10. Well placed, disposed, or adjusted; orderly; well regulated.

Sense 11. Being on the right hand of a person whose face is toward the mouth of a river; as, the right bank of the Hudson.

Sense 12. Designed to be placed or worn outward; as, the right side of a piece of cloth.

Sense 13. (Math.) Straight; upright from a base; having an upright axis; as, a right line; a right angle; a right cone.

At right angles, so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly.—On the right, on the side with the right hand.—Right and left, in both or all directions; on all sides. [Colloq.]—Right angle, the angle formed by one line falling perpendicularly on another; in spherics, a spherical angle included between the axes of two great circles whose planes are perpendicular to each other.—Right ascension. See ASCENSION.—Right cone, right cylinder, right prism, right pyramid, a cone, cylinder, prism, or pyramid, the axis of which is perpendicular to the base.—Right sphere (Astron. & Geog.), that position of the sphere in which the equator cuts the horizon at right angles; in spherical projections, that position of the sphere in which the primitive plane coincides with the plane of the equator. Math. Dict.—Right or left side, right or left wing, extreme right, extreme left, terms derived from the French Chamber of Deputies, and other halls of legislation, where the party for the existing administration of government occupy the right side of the hall, and the party against the administration occupy the left.

Right is used elliptically for it is right, what you say is right, true.

Right, cries his lordship. Pope.

Synonyms—Straight; direct; perpendicular; upright; lawful; rightful; true; correct; just; equitable; proper; fit; suitable; becoming.

Right, adv.

adverb

(rĭt), adv. 1. In a right manner; especially, in a right or straight line; directly. Let thine eyes look right on. Prov. iv. 25.

According to the law or will of God, or to the standard of truth and justice; as, to judge right.
According to any rule of art.

You with strict discipline instructed right. Roscommon.

According to fact or truth; as, to tell a story right.
In a great degree; very; as, right humble; right noble; right valiant. “For which I should be right sorry.” Tyndale.

I return those duties back as are right fit. Shak.

Very; extremely;—prefixed to titles; as, right honorable; right reverend.
Actually; truly; really.

His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught. Fairfax. Right away, or right off, at once; immediately; without delay. [Colloq. U. S.] Bartlett.

Right, n.

noun

(rīt), n. [A-S. riht. See supra.] 1. That which is right or correct; as, (a.) The straight course; adherence to duty; obedience to lawful authority, divine or human; freedom from guilt; — the opposite of moral wrong. (b.) A true statement; freedom from error or falsehood; adherence to truth or fact. Seldom your opinions err; Your eyes are always in the right. Prior. (c.) A just judgment; that which is true or proper; justice; uprightness; integrity. Long love to her has borne the faithful knight, And well deserved, had fortune done him right. Dryden.

That to which one has a claim; as, (a.) That which one has a natural claim to exact. “There are no rights whatever without corresponding duties.” Coleridge. (b.) That which one has a legal or social claim to do or to exact; legal power; authority; as, a sheriff has a right to arrest a criminal. (c.) That which justly belongs to one; that which one has a claim to possess or own; the interest or share which any one has in a piece of property; title; claim; property; interest; ownership. “Born free, he sought his right.” Dryden. “Hast thou not right to all created things?” Milton. “Men have no right to what is not reasonable.” Burke. (d.) Privilege or immunity granted by authority.
That which is on the right side, or opposite to the left.
The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of cloth, a carpet, &c.

Bill of rights, a list of rights; a paper containing a declaration of rights, or the declaration itself. — By rights, or by good rights, properly; correctly. “I should have been a woman by rights.” Shak. — To rights. (a.) In a direct line; straight. [Rare.] Woodward. (b.) Directly; soon. [Obs. or low.] — To set to rights, to put into good order; to adjust; to regulate, as what is out of order. — Writ of right, a writ which lay to recover lands in fee-simple, unjustly withheld from the true owner. Blackstone.

Right, v. t.

verbtransitive

(rĭt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. RIGHTED; p. pr. & vb. n. RIGHTING.] [A-S. rihtan. See supra.] 1. To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight, as having been wrong or crooked. All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. Jefferson. 2. To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; as, to right an injured person. To right a vessel (Naut.), to restore her to an upright position after careening. — To right the helm, to place it in the middle of the ship.

Right, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright.

Sense 2. (Naut.) Hence, to rise with the masts erect, as a ship when it has been drawn to one side.