Right (rīt), a. [OE. right, riht, AS. riht; akin to D. regt, OS. & OHG. reht, G. recht, Dan. ret, Sw. rätt, Icel. rëttr, Goth. raíhts, L. rectus, p. p. of regere to guide, rule; cf. Skr. &rsdot_;ju straight, right. √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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&hand_; 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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&hand_; 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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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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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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