[syn: correctly, right, aright]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Right \Right\ (r[imac]t), a. [OE. right, riht, AS. riht; akin to
D. regt, OS. & OHG. reht, G. recht, Dan. ret, Sw. r[aum]tt,
Icel. rettr, Goth. ra['i]hts, L. rectus, p. p. of regere to
guide, rule; cf. Skr. [.r]ju straight, right. [root]115. Cf.
Adroit,Alert, Correct, Dress, Regular, Rector,
Recto, Rectum, Regent, Region, Realm, Rich,
Royal, Rule.]
1. Straight; direct; not crooked; as, a right line. "Right as
any line." --Chaucer
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2. Upright; erect from a base; having an upright axis; not
oblique; as, right ascension; a right pyramid or cone.
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3. Conformed to the constitution of man and the will of God,
or to justice and equity; not deviating from the true and
just; according with truth and duty; just; true.
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That which is conformable to the Supreme Rule is
absolutely right, and is called right simply without
relation to a special end. --Whately.
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2. Fit; suitable; proper; correct; becoming; as, the right
man in the right place; the right way from London to
Oxford.
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5. Characterized by reality or genuineness; real; actual; not
spurious. "His right wife." --Chaucer.
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In this battle, . . . the Britons never more plainly
manifested themselves to be right barbarians.
--Milton.
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6. According with truth; passing a true judgment; conforming
to fact or intent; not mistaken or wrong; not erroneous;
correct; as, this is the right faith.
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You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well.
--Shak.
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If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the
inference is . . . right, "Let us eat and drink, for
to-morrow we die." --Locke.
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7. Most favorable or convenient; fortunate.
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The lady has been disappointed on the right side.
--Spectator.
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8. Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which
the muscular action is usually stronger than on the other
side; -- opposed to left when used in reference to a part
of the body; as, the right side, hand, arm. Also applied
to the corresponding side of the lower animals.
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Became the sovereign's favorite, his right hand.
--Longfellow.
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Note: In designating the banks of a river, right and left are
used always with reference to the position of one who
is facing in the direction of the current's flow.
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9. Well placed, disposed, or adjusted; orderly; well
regulated; correctly done.
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10. Designed to be placed or worn outward; as, the right side
of a piece of cloth.
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At right angles, so as to form a right angle or right
angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly.
Right and left, in both or all directions. [Colloq.]
Right and left coupling (Pipe fitting), a coupling the
opposite ends of which are tapped for a right-handed screw
and a left-handed screw, respectivelly.
Right angle.
(a) The angle formed by one line meeting another
perpendicularly, as the angles ABD, DBC.
(b) (Spherics) A spherical angle included between the
axes of two great circles whose planes are
perpendicular to each other.
Right ascension. See under Ascension.
Right Center (Politics), those members belonging to the
Center in a legislative assembly who have sympathies with
the Right on political questions. See Center, n., 5.
Right cone, Right cylinder, Right prism, Right
pyramid (Geom.), a cone, cylinder, prism, or pyramid, the
axis of which is perpendicular to the base.
Right line. See under Line.
Right sailing (Naut.), sailing on one of the four cardinal
points, so as to alter a ship's latitude or its longitude,
but not both. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Right sphere (Astron. & Geol.), a sphere in such a position
that 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.
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Note: Right is used elliptically for it is right, what you
say is right, true.
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"Right," cries his lordship. --Pope.
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Syn: Straight; direct; perpendicular; upright; lawful;
rightful; true; correct; just; equitable; proper;
suitable; becoming.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Right \Right\, n. [AS. right. See Right, a.]
1. That which is right or correct. Specifically:
(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 of falsehood;
adherence to truth or fact.
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Seldom your opinions err;
Your eyes are always in the right. --Prior.
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(c) A just judgment or action; that which is true or
proper; justice; uprightness; integrity.
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Long love to her has borne the faithful knight,
And well deserved, had fortune done him right.
--Dryden.
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2. That to which one has a just claim. Specifically:
(a) That which one has a natural claim to exact.
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There are no rights whatever, without
corresponding duties. --Coleridge.
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(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
anyone has in a piece of property; title; claim;
interest; ownership.
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Born free, he sought his right. --Dryden.
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Hast thou not right to all created things?
--Milton.
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Men have no right to what is not reasonable.
--Burke.
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(d) Privilege or immunity granted by authority.
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3. The right side; the side opposite to the left.
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Led her to the Souldan's right. --Spenser.
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4. In some legislative bodies of Europe (as in France), those
members collectively who are conservatives or monarchists.
See Center, 5.
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5. The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of
cloth, a carpet, etc.
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At all right, at all points; in all respects. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.
Bill of rights, a list of rights; a paper containing a
declaration of rights, or the declaration itself. See
under Bill.
By right, By rights, or By good rights, rightly;
properly; correctly.
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He should himself use it by right. --Chaucer.
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I should have been a woman by right. --Shak.
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Divine right, or
Divine right of kings, a name given to the patriarchal
theory of government, especially to the doctrine that no
misconduct and no dispossession can forfeit the right of a
monarch or his heirs to the throne, and to the obedience
of the people.
To rights.
(a) In a direct line; straight. [R.] --Woodward.
(b) At once; directly. [Obs. or Colloq.] --Swift.
To set to rights, To put to rights, to put in good order;
to adjust; to regulate, as what is out of order.
Writ of right (Law), a writ which lay to recover lands in
fee simple, unjustly withheld from the true owner.
--Blackstone.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Right \Right\, adv.
1. In a right manner.
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2. In a right or straight line; directly; hence; straightway;
immediately; next; as, he stood right before me; it went
right to the mark; he came right out; he followed right
after the guide.
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Unto Dian's temple goeth she right. --Chaucer.
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Let thine eyes look right on. --Prov. iv.
25.
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Right across its track there lay,
Down in the water, a long reef of gold. --Tennyson.
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3. Exactly; just. [Obs. or Colloq.]
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Came he right now to sing a raven's note? --Shak.
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4. According to the law or will of God; conforming to the
standard of truth and justice; righteously; as, to live
right; to judge right.
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5. According to any rule of art; correctly.
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You with strict discipline instructed right.
--Roscommon.
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6. According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really;
correctly; exactly; as, to tell a story right. "Right at
mine own cost." --Chaucer.
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Right as it were a steed of Lumbardye. --Chaucer.
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His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught.
--Fairfax.
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7. In a great degree; very; wholly; unqualifiedly; extremely;
highly; as, right humble; right noble; right valiant. "He
was not right fat". --Chaucer.
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For which I should be right sorry. --Tyndale.
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[I] return those duties back as are right fit.
--Shak.
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Note: In this sense now chiefly prefixed to titles; as, right
honorable; right reverend.
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Right honorable, a title given in England to peers and
peeresses, to the eldest sons and all daughters of such
peers as have rank above viscounts, and to all privy
councilors; also, to certain civic officers, as the lord
mayor of London, of York, and of Dublin.
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Note: Right is used in composition with other adverbs, as
upright, downright, forthright, etc.
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Right along, without cessation; continuously; as, to work
right along for several hours. [Colloq. U.S.]
Right away, or Right off, at once; straightway; without
delay. [Colloq. U.S.] "We will . . . shut ourselves up in
the office and do the work right off." --D. Webster.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Right \Right\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Righted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Righting.] [AS. rihtan. See Right, a.]
1. To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to
set upright; to make right or straight (that which has
been wrong or crooked); to correct.
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2. To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights
to; to assert or regain the rights of; as, to right the
oppressed; to right one's self; also, to vindicate.
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So just is God, to right the innocent. --Shak.
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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.
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To right a vessel (Naut.), to restore her to an upright
position after careening.
To right the helm (Naut.), to place it in line with the
keel.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Right \Right\, v. i.
1. To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to
become upright.
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2. (Naut.) Hence, to regain an upright position, as a ship or
boat, after careening.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
right
adv 1: precisely, exactly; "stand right here!"
2: immediately; "she called right after dinner"
3: exactly; "he fell flop on his face" [syn: right, flop]
4: toward or on the right; also used figuratively; "he looked
right and left"; "the party has moved right" [ant: left]
5: in the right manner; "please do your job properly!"; "can't
you carry me decent?" [syn: properly, decently, decent,
in good order, right, the right way] [ant:
improperly]
6: an interjection expressing agreement [syn: right, right
on]
7: completely; "she felt right at home"; "he fell right into the
trap"
8: (Southern regional intensive) very; to a great degree; "the
baby is mighty cute"; "he's mighty tired"; "it is powerful
humid"; "that boy is powerful big now"; "they have a right
nice place"; "they rejoiced mightily" [syn: mighty,
mightily, powerful, right]
9: in accordance with moral or social standards; "that serves
him right"; "do right by him" [syn: justly, right]
10: in an accurate manner; "the flower had been correctly
depicted by his son"; "he guessed right" [syn: correctly,
right, aright] [ant: incorrectly, wrong, wrongly]
adj 1: being or located on or directed toward the side of the
body to the east when facing north; "my right hand";
"right center field"; "a right-hand turn"; "the right
bank of a river is the bank on your right side when you
are facing downstream" [ant: left]
2: free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth; "the
correct answer"; "the correct version"; "the right answer";
"took the right road"; "the right decision" [syn: correct,
right] [ant: incorrect, wrong]
3: socially right or correct; "it isn't right to leave the party
without saying goodbye"; "correct behavior" [syn: correct,
right]
4: in conformance with justice or law or morality; "do the right
thing and confess" [ant: wrong]
5: correct in opinion or judgment; "time proved him right" [syn:
right, correct] [ant: wrong]
6: appropriate for a condition or purpose or occasion or a
person's character, needs; "everything in its proper place";
"the right man for the job"; "she is not suitable for the
position" [syn: proper, right]
7: of or belonging to the political or intellectual right [ant:
center, left]
8: in or into a satisfactory condition; "things are right again
now"; "put things right"
9: intended for the right hand; "a right-hand glove" [syn:
right(a), right-hand(a)]
10: in accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure;
"what's the right word for this?"; "the right way to open
oysters" [syn: correct, right]
11: having the axis perpendicular to the base; "a right angle"
12: (of the side of cloth or clothing) facing or intended to
face outward; "the right side of the cloth showed the
pattern"; "be sure your shirt is right side out"
13: most suitable or right for a particular purpose; "a good
time to plant tomatoes"; "the right time to act"; "the time
is ripe for great sociological changes" [syn: good,
right, ripe]
14: precisely accurate; "a veracious account" [syn: veracious,
right]
n 1: an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or
governmental body by law or tradition or nature; "they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights";
"Certain rights can never be granted to the government but
must be kept in the hands of the people"- Eleanor
Roosevelt; "a right is not something that somebody gives
you; it is something that nobody can take away"
2: location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the
side to the south when a person or object faces east; "he
stood on the right" [ant: left]
3: the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right
[syn: right field, rightfield, right]
4: those who support political or social or economic
conservatism; those who believe that things are better left
unchanged [syn: right, right wing]
5: the hand that is on the right side of the body; "he writes
with his right hand but pitches with his left"; "hit him with
quick rights to the body" [syn: right, right hand]
6: a turn toward the side of the body that is on the south when
the person is facing east; "take a right at the corner"
7: anything in accord with principles of justice; "he feels he
is in the right"; "the rightfulness of his claim" [syn:
right, rightfulness] [ant: wrong, wrongfulness]
8: (frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom
in some intangible thing; "mineral rights"; "film rights"
v 1: make reparations or amends for; "right a wrongs done to the
victims of the Holocaust" [syn: right, compensate,
redress, correct] [ant: wrong]
2: put in or restore to an upright position; "They righted the
sailboat that had capsized"
3: regain an upright or proper position; "The capsized boat
righted again"
4: make right or correct; "Correct the mistakes"; "rectify the
calculation" [syn: correct, rectify, right] [ant:
falsify]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
778 Moby Thesaurus words for "right":
Bill of Rights, Bircher, Bourbon, Christian, Declaration of Right,
Epistle side, Magna Carta, Magna Charta, OK, Petition of Right,
Roger, Tory, a propos, absolute, absolute interest, absolute power,
absolutely, absoluteness, absolutism, acceptable, accepted,
accommodate, accord, according to Hoyle, accuracy, accurate,
accurately, acknowledged, acknowledgment, ad rem, adapt, adapted,
adequate, adjust, adjust to, admitted, advantageous,
advantageously, advisable, all right, all there, almighty, alright,
alrighty, amen, amend, appanage, applicable, apposite, appropriate,
appropriately, approved, appurtenance, apropos, apt, aptly, aright,
arrange, arrowlike, as is proper, as is right, as you say,
assimilate, assuredly, astarboard, at once, attention to fact,
attune, auspicious, authentic, authoritative, authority, avenge,
awfully, aye, balanced, bang, basis, becoming, befitting,
being done, beneficial, benefit, birthright, bitter-ender,
blameless, bona fide, bunkum, by all means, by right, by rights,
call, canonical, capitally, care for truth, cause, certainly,
civil, civil liberties, civil rights, claim, clean, clearheaded,
clearminded, clockwise, cognizance, comely, comeuppance,
comme il faut, common, compensate, competence, competency,
complete, compos mentis, condign, condignly, conditioned,
conformable, congruous, conjugal right, conscientious,
conservatist, conservative, constituted authority,
constitutional rights, contingent interest, convenient,
conventional, coordinate, correct, correctitude, correctly,
correctness, credit, creditable, crediting, customary, cut to, da,
de rigueur, dead, dead ahead, dead right, dead straight,
decanal side, decent, decorous, defensibility, defensible,
definitely, delegated authority, delicacy, demand, deserts,
deserved, deserving, desirable, dexter, dextrad, dextral,
dextrally, dextrocardial, dextrocerebral, dextrocular,
dextrogyrate, dextrogyratory, dextropedal, dextrorotary, dextrorse,
die, die-hard, diehard, direct, directly, divine right, done,
dovetailing, droit, drumhead justice, due, due north, dueness,
duly, easement, emend, equalize, equitable, equitable interest,
equitableness, equity, erect, estate, estimable, ethical,
evangelical, even, evenhanded, evenhandedness, exact, exactitude,
exactly, exactness, exceedingly, excellently, expedient, expressly,
extreme right-winger, face, fact, factual, faculty, fair,
fair and square, fairly, fairness, faithful, faithfully,
faithfulness, famously, faultless, faultlessness, favorable,
favorably, feasible, felicitous, fidelity, fine, finely, fineness,
firm, fit, fitted, fitten, fitting, fittingly, fix, flat, flawless,
flawlessness, flush, fogyish, formal, forthright, forthwith,
foundation, freedom, front, fructuous, full, full of integrity,
fundamentalist, gear to, geared, genteel, genuine,
give satisfaction, give-and-take, good, good enough, good reason,
goodness, ground, grounds, hale, happy, hard hat, harmonize,
healthy, healthy-minded, hear, high-minded, high-mindedness,
high-principled, highly respectable, holding, homologate,
homologize, honest, honestly, honesty, honorable, honorableness,
horizontal, human rights, immaculate, immediately, imperialist,
in a beeline, in a line, in all conscience, in all respects,
in every respect, in line with, in reason, inalienable right,
indeed, indeedy, indirect authority, indubitable, inequity,
inherent authority, injustice, instantly, integrity, interest,
inviolate, ipsissimis verbis, irreproachable, irretrievably,
irrevocably, it is that, ja, jus divinum, just, just right,
just so, justice, justifiability, justifiable, justifiableness,
justification, justified, justly, justness, kerplunk, key to,
kosher, law-abiding, law-loving, law-revering, lawful,
lawful authority, lawfulness, legal, legal authority, legal rights,
legality, legitimacy, letter-perfect, level, liberty, license,
licit, likely, limitation, lineal, linear, literal, literalism,
literality, literally, literalness, literatim, lucid, mais oui,
make all square, make good, make plumb, make right, make uniform,
make up for, manly, material basis, mathematical precision,
measure, measure for measure, meet, meet and right, meetness, mend,
mentally sound, merit, merited, meshing, meticulous,
meticulousness, mightily, mighty, monarchist, moral, morality,
most assuredly, natural right, natural rights, naturally,
naturellement, nemesis, nice, nicely, niceness, nicety, nobility,
noble, normal, normative, of course, of sound mind, of the faith,
off, okay, old liner, on the button, on the right, only, only too,
open, opportune, opportunely, option, order, orthodox,
orthodoxical, oui, out-and-out, overhaul, part, pat, patch,
pay reparations, percentage, perfect, perfection, perfectly,
perquisite, plain, plop, plumb, plump, plunk, poetic justice,
point-blank, politic, positively, power, powerful, powerfully,
precise, precisely, preciseness, precision, preferable, preferred,
prerogative, prescription, presumptive right, pretense, pretension,
pretext, pretty, principal, principled, privilege, profitable,
profitably, promising, promptly, pronto, proper, proper claim,
properly, properness, property right, propitious, proportion,
propriety, pure, put, put and call, put in order, put in shape,
put in tune, put right, put straight, put to rights, qualified,
quickly, quite, radical right, rather, rational, reactionarist,
reactionary, reactionist, real, really, reason, reasonable,
received, recognition, recognized, recommendable, recompense,
reconcile, recondition, reconstruct, rectify, rectilineal,
rectilinear, rectitude, recto, redress, reduce to order,
refinement, regality, regulate, relevant, remedy, remunerate,
repair, repay, reputable, requisite, requite, respectable,
retributive justice, revamp, revenge, right and proper,
right as rain, right away, right field, right hand, right of entry,
right off, right side, right wing, right you are, right-hand,
right-minded, right-wing, right-winger, right-wingish, righteous,
rightful, rightful authority, rightfully, rightfulness, rightist,
rightly, rightness, righto, rights, rightward, rightwardly,
rightwards, rigidity, rigidly, rigor, rigorous, rigorously,
rigorousness, royal prerogative, royalist, royally, rude justice,
ruler-straight, sane, sane-minded, satisfactorily, satisfactory,
scales of justice, scriptural, scrupulous, seasonable, seemly,
sensible, sensibly, set, set in order, set right, set straight,
set to rights, set up, settle, settlement, severity, sharp, sheer,
similarize, simon-pure, smack, smack-dab, smooth, so,
social Darwinist, sort out, sortable, sound, sound-minded, spang,
speedily, splendidly, spotless, spread, square, squarely,
stainless, stake, standard, standpat, standpatter, starboard,
starboard tack, stark, sterling, stock option, straddle, straight,
straight across, straight ahead, straight-cut, straight-front,
straight-side, straight-up-and-down, straightaway, straighten out,
straighten up, straightforward, straightforwards, straightly,
strap, strategic, streamlined, strict, strict settlement, strictly,
strictness, strip, substance, subtlety, sufficient, suitable,
suitably, suited, suiting, summary justice, sure, sure thing,
sure-enough, surely, swiftly, sync, synchronize, tailor, tailored,
terribly, terrifically, textual, textualism, that is so,
the letter, the say, the say-so, thorough, thoroughgoing, timely,
title, to be desired, to be fair, to be sure, to the letter,
to the point, to the purpose, to the right, together, tolerable,
tory, traditional, traditionalistic, trim to, true, true up,
true-blue, true-dealing, true-devoted, true-disposing, true-souled,
true-spirited, truehearted, truly, trust, truth, truthful, tune,
ultraconservative, unalienable rights, unalloyed, unbending,
unbent, unblemished, unbowed, unbroken, uncorrupt, uncorrupted,
uncurved, undefiled, undeflected, undeviating, undeviatingly,
undistorted, undoubted, unerringly, unexceptional, unimpeachable,
uninterrupted, unmitigated, unrelievedly, unsnarl, unspotted,
unstained, unsullied, unswerving, unswervingly, untarnished,
unturned, unveeringly, upper, upright, uprighteous, uprightness,
upstanding, urbane, use, useful, utter, valid, vamp, veracious,
verbally, verbatim, verbatim et litteratim, veridical, veritable,
vertical, very, very well, vested authority, vested interest,
vested right, vicarious authority, vindicate, virtue, virtuous,
virtuousness, warrant, warrantability, warrantable, warranted,
warrantedness, well, well and good, well-timed, what is owing,
what is right, whip into shape, whole, wholesome, why yes, wise,
without delay, without hesitation, word by word, word for word,
worthwhile, worthy, yea, yeah, yeomanly, yep, yes, yes indeed,
yes indeedy, yes sir, yes sirree, you are right, you said it,
you speak truly
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
RIGHT. This word is used in various senses: 1. Sometimes it signifies a law,
as when we say that natural right requires us to keep our promises, or that
it commands restitution, or that it forbids murder. In our language it is
seldom used in this sense. 2. It sometimes means that quality in our actions
by which they are denominated just ones. This is usually denominated
rectitude. 3. It is that quality in a person by which he can do certain
actions, or possess certain things which belong to him by virtue of some
title. In this sense, we use it when we say that a man has a right to his
estate or a right to defend himself. Ruth, Inst. c. 2, Sec. 1, 2, 3;
Merlin,; Repert. de Jurisp. mot Droit. See Wood's Inst. 119.
2. In this latter sense alone, will this word be here considered. Right
is the correlative of duty, for, wherever one has a right due to him, some
other must owe him a duty. 1 Toull. n. 96.
3. Rights are perfect and imperfect. When the things which we have a
right to possess or the actions we have a right to do, are or may be fixed
and determinate, the right is a perfect one; but when the thing or the
actions are vague and indeterminate, the right is an imperfect one. If a man
demand his property, which is withheld from him, the right that supports his
demand is a perfect one; because the thing demanded is, or may be fixed and
determinate.
4. But if a poor man ask relief from those from whom he has reason to
expect it, the right, which supports his petition, is an imperfect one;
because the relief which he expects, is a vague indeterminate, thing. Ruth.
Inst. c. 2, Sec. 4; Grot. lib. 1, c. Sec. 4.
5. Rights are also absolute and qualified. A man has an absolute right
to recover property which belongs to him; an agent has a qualified right to
recover such property, when it had been entrusted to his care, and which has
been unlawfully taken out of his possession. Vide Trover.
6. Rights might with propriety be also divided into natural and civil
rights but as all the rights which man has received from nature have been
modified and acquired anew from the civil law, it is more proper, when
considering their object, to divide them into political and civil rights.
7. Political rights consist in the power to participate, directly or
indirectly, in the establishment or management of government. These
political rights are fixed by the constitution. Every citizen has the right
of voting for public officers, and of being elected; these are the political
rights which the humblest citizen possesses.
8. Civil rights are those which have no relation to the establishment,
support, or management of the government. These consist in the power of
acquiring and enjoying property, of exercising the paternal and marital
powers, and the like. It will be observed that every one, unless deprived of
them by a sentence of civil death, is in the enjoyment of his civil rights,
which is not the case with political rights; for an alien, for example, has
no political, although in the full enjoyment of his civil rights.
9. These latter rights are divided into absolute and relative. The
absolute rights of mankind may be reduced to three principal or primary
articles: the right of personal security, which consists in a person's legal
and uninterrupted enjoyment of his life, his limbs, his body, his health,
and his reputation; the right of personal liberty, which consists in the
power of locomotion, of changing situation, or removing one's person to
whatsoever place one's inclination may direct, without any restraint, unless
by due course of law; the right of property, which consists in the free use,
enjoyment, and disposal of all his acquisitions, without any control or
diminution, save only by the laws of the land. 1 Bl. 124 to 139.
10. The relative rights are public or private: the first are those which
subsist between the people and the government, as the right of protection on
the part of the people, and the right of allegiance which is due by the
people to the government; the second are the reciprocal rights of husband
and wife, parent and child, guardian and ward, and master and servant.
11. Rights are also divided into legal and equitable. The former are
those where the party has the legal title to a thing, and in that case, his
remedy for an infringement of it, is by an action in a court of law.
Although the person holding the legal title may have no actual interest, but
hold only as trustee, the suit must be in his name, and not in general, in
that of the cestui que trust. 1 East, 497 8 T. R. 332; 1 Saund. 158, n. 1; 2
Bing. 20. The latter, or equitable rights, are those which may be enforced
in a court of equity by the cestui que trust. See, generally, Bouv. Ins t.
Index, h.t. Remedy.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
RIGHT, WRIT OF. Breve de recto. Vide Writ of light.
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
RIGHT, n. Legitimate authority to be, to do or to have; as the right
to be a king, the right to do one's neighbor, the right to have
measles, and the like. The first of these rights was once universally
believed to be derived directly from the will of God; and this is
still sometimes affirmed _in partibus infidelium_ outside the
enlightened realms of Democracy; as the well known lines of Sir
Abednego Bink, following:
By what right, then, do royal rulers rule?
Whose is the sanction of their state and pow'r?
He surely were as stubborn as a mule
Who, God unwilling, could maintain an hour
His uninvited session on the throne, or air
His pride securely in the Presidential chair.
Whatever is is so by Right Divine;
Whate'er occurs, God wills it so. Good land!
It were a wondrous thing if His design
A fool could baffle or a rogue withstand!
If so, then God, I say (intending no offence)
Is guilty of contributory negligence.