# Right in various languages



## SSK_Toronto

My question is about the word _right_.

In Romance, German, and Slavic languages, the word is the same for both side and entitlement (right side, human right). 
e.g. right, recht, droit, derecho

What's the reason for this?


----------



## Abu Rashid

Probably due to the association of right handedness with righteousness and left handedness with wickedness.

This may be more restricted to European languages though, in Arabic they are not linked.


----------



## ocanada3933

abu rashid has it right (no pun intended).

because right-handedness was seen as something more inherently correct than left handedness, it came to mean correct. 

slightly similar are ambidextrous ("two right hands") and sinister, which came from latin and originally meant (the direction) left.


----------



## elianecanspeak

I think that in addition to "correctness" there is a basis in what is considered "natural" (and therefore "correct").  

As Abu Rashid and ocanada point out, many cultures considered the use of the right hand to be "natural" and that of the left hand "unnatural".  The word "dexterous" from the Latin supports this association: that the right hand is naturally used and therefore more agile, while the left is considered clumsy.

This accords with the philosophical concept of "unalienable Rights"to which *"the laws of nature"* entitle people. In other words, that these are inherent.  Of course, the concept of what is natural or inherent has varied widely through history and between cultures. *"The divine right of kings"*, for example, is no longer recognized in most of the world.


----------



## er targyn

In Turkic lang's right is oŋ, which means also "good, lucky". In Oguz subbrach right is sağ, it also means "healthy".


----------



## berndf

Abu Rashid said:


> This may be more restricted to European languages though, in Arabic they are not linked.


But Semitic languages have a similar association: they associate "right" to "luck".


----------



## ancalimon

In Turkish

Right: sağ (direction)   Sağ: alive, healthy

Right: doğru (correct)  Doğru: towards, straight   Doğ (<to(/u)g-): to be born, dawn, rising (of the sun)

Also  RUH (soul) seems to be related to DOĞ. (but I'm not sure if it's Turkic in origin or not).  TUĞ: flag  but it also means soul because the flag is the soul of a family.

Right: doğruluk (as in divine right)

Also  Doğu:east

So I guess being a ruler was related to "being born" and "rising of the sun"


----------



## Abu Rashid

ancalimon said:
			
		

> Also  RUH (soul) seems to be related to DOĞ. (but I'm not sure if it's  Turkic in origin or not).  TUĞ: flag  but it also means soul because the  flag is the soul of a family.



I think we can quite safely say "ruh" is a Semitic word (meaning spirit), and is borrowed via Arabic.


----------



## origumi

berndf said:


> But Semitic languages have a similar association: they associate "right" to "luck".


Also to success, support (in Biblical Hebrew) and to skill, craft.


----------



## artion

In europe the association between _right side_ and _correct_ has been strenghened by the Gospel. (sheeps on the right, goats on the left etc). This doesn't  apply in Greek. _Dexia_ means only right side but is also related to ability (dex-terity)


----------



## Abu Rashid

berndf said:
			
		

> But Semitic languages have a similar association: they associate "right" to "luck".



Possibly, not that I've come across though.

The word y-m-n is fairly common across the Semitic languages, and I'm not aware of it referring to luck, nor to righteousness. It does double as the word for south though.

Note: Unless it's possible to reduce y-m-n to ʔ-m-n which some Biblical Hebrew scholars claimed, and then it could carry a simpler meaning of faithful (perhaps righteous?).


----------



## rayloom

The Arabic word for right (side) is yamiin, and it also means "oath" and "power".
The root y-m-n (through derived words) is associated with other meanings as well, such as blessing, prosperity, righteosness and good luck (Among other meanings).


----------



## DenisBiH

SSK_Toronto said:


> My question is about the word _right_.
> 
> In Romance, German, and Slavic languages, the word is the same for both side and entitlement (right side, human right).
> e.g. right, recht, droit, derecho
> 
> What's the reason for this?




Not all Slavic, at least not modern. In BCS words related to right as correct, entitlement etc. derive from Proto-Slavic *pravъ (meaning "straight" in BCS), while the words for right as in right-hand side derive from Proto-Slavic *desnъ < PIE *dek's- (the same root as for Latin dexter). I don't know if that was also the case in the past.


----------



## apmoy70

artion said:


> In europe the association between _right side_ and _correct_ has been strenghened by the Gospel. (sheeps on the right, goats on the left etc). This doesn't  apply in Greek. _Dexia_ means only right side but is also related to ability (dex-terity)


Indeed. Some philologists see in Greek a connection between the adv. «δεξιά» (ðeksi'a)-->_right_ or the adjective «δεξιός, -ά, -ό» (ðeksi'os, _m._/ðeksi'a _f._/ ðeksi'o _n._)-->_right_, with the verb «δέχομαι» ('ðexome)-->_take, accept, receive_ which is logical (we take something offered usually into our right hand). As artion has accurately posted, «δεξιά» is related to ability: in Greek the auspicious, dexterous even clever one, is «επιδέξιος» (epi'ðeksios; lit. _towards the right_).


----------



## Sepia

However, not all Germanic languages have the same word for right (direction) and right (correct). In DK: right (direction) = højre, left= venstre, right (correct) = rigtig. Swedish and Norwegian are similar.

Other words that have no similarity with right and left, have been used in Danish.


----------



## Istriano

in  Croatian it's different, as Denis has already said:

_human *right*: _ljudsko *pravo*
_drive on the *right*: _voziti na *desno*

etymology

*pravo *(right, direito, derecho, diritto)
etymology: translation from german Recht, _fr._ droit, meaning *straight*

*desno *(right, direita, derecha, destra)
etymology: _oldchurch Slavonic_ desnъ (_rus._ desníca: desna ruka, _bug._ desen) ← _ie._ *dek's- (_lat._ dexter: desni, _gr._ deksiterós, _lit._ dešinas)


In Serbian they say* idi pravo* but I don't understand what it means: _idi desno_ (go right) or_ idi ravno_ (keep straight ahead).

Here in Istria people use *drito *(from Italian _diritto_) for _(go/be) straight ahead._


----------



## DenisBiH

Istriano said:


> In Serbian they say* idi pravo* but I don't understand what it means: _idi desno_ (go right) or_ idi ravno_ (keep straight ahead).
> 
> Here in Istria people use *drito *(from Italian _diritto_) for _(go/be) straight ahead._



_
Idi pravo_ is the same as _idi ravno_, we also use _idi pravo_.

And _drito_ is known here in B-H as well, but not really for directions, more of a jargon word meaning "straight", "immediately".


----------



## elianecanspeak

SSK_Toronto  mentioned romance languages.
In Spanish *derecho* means "right side", but also "upright", "straight ahead","judicial right", "duties", and "fairness".

In English the word *u"upright"* means "marked by strong moral *rectitude* <an upright citizen>"  (Merriam Webster) and *"rectitude"* means : 1. the quality or state of being straight,  2. moral _*integrity*_ : *right*eousness,  3. the quality or state of being *correct* in judgment or procedure."

They define *"downright"* as "1.  archaic : _straight_ down,  2. absolutely 1 <downright handsome> <downright mean>"

*"Forthright"* a : "di*rect*ly forward, b : without hesitation : frankly"


The large majority of people are right handed, and the lines they draw with right hand are straight, and the work they do with right hand is well done.  To treat others *fairly*, you need to perform in a_ competent, experienced way, like the work you do with your right hand,_ and *not* with the _inferior competence of work done with the left hand._


----------



## Derakhshan

y-m-n in Arabic is related to both "right" and "auspiciousness, good fortune, blessing".

š-ʾ-m is related to both "left" (cf. أصحاب المشئمة "people of the left") and "misfortune, bad omen".

So it's very much a thing in Arabic.


----------



## symposium

In Italian right is "diritto", which has the double meaning of "right" and "straight", so I have always assumed the idea was that something is right because it's not crooked, in a literal or in a figurate sense. The right hand is "la mano destra", the right side is "il lato destro", so no obvious connection between the two words (right hand/human rights).


----------



## apmoy70

In Greek (as I posted 11 years ago), the adverb *«δεξιά»* [ðe̞.k͡s̠i.ˈa] --> _rightwards_, adj. *«δεξιός, -ά, -ό»* [ðe̞.k͡s̠i.ˈo̞s̠] (masc.), [ðe̞.k͡s̠i.ˈa] (fem.), [ðe̞.k͡s̠i.ˈo̞] (neut.) --> _right (wing/hand/side)_ < Classical adjective *«δεξιός» dĕksiós* --> _(to the) right (side)_ may be cognate with the deponent verb *«δέχομαι»* [ˈðe̞.xo̞.me̞] --> _to accept, receive, allow_ < Classical deponent v. *«δέχομαι» dékʰŏmai* --> _to take, accept_, with Aorist II stem *«δεξ-» dĕks-* which is logical as we (right-handed people, the majority) take something offered usually into our right hand (PIE *deḱs(i)- < *deḱs- _right_ which gave the archaic *δεξιϝός *dĕksiwós hence identical with the Gaulish *deksiu(o)- _on the right, in the south, favourable_ > Gaulish goddess Dexsiua (Dea); Proto-Germanic *tehswô, _right_ > Ger. zese; Skt. दक्षिण (dakṣiṇa), _right, southern_).

In Classical Greek, _left_ is *«σκαιός, -ά, -όν» skaiós* (masc.), *skaiā́* (fem.), *skaión* (neut.) with cognates the Sanskrit छाया (chāyā), _shade, reflection_, Latin scævus, from PIE *skeh₂-i-uo- _left, inauspicious_. According to Beekes:


			
				Robert Beekes said:
			
		

> The semantic development may have been 'shaded' > 'western', and when referring to hands, 'shaded hand' > 'improper hand = left hand'



The ancient Greeks replaced the unfavourable «σκαιός» with the euphemism *«ἀριστερός, -ρά, -ρόν» ărĭstĕrós* (masc.), *ărĭstĕrā́* (fem.), *ărĭstĕrón* (neut.) < Classical adj. *«ἄριστος» ắrĭstos* --> _the best, first, noblest_, superlative of the deverbative comparative adj. *«ἀρείων» ăreíōn* --> _better, stronger, nobler_ (the suppletive comparative of the adjective *«ἀγαθός» ăgătʰós* --> _good, brave, noble, moral, gentle_) < Classical Gr. v. *«ἀραρίσκω» ărărískō* --> _to fit together, construct, equip_ (PIE *h₂er- _to fit_ cf. Hitt. āra-, _proper_, arā-, _friend_, Lyc. ara-, _rite_, Skt. ऋतु (ṛtu), _order_, Av. arəm, _fitting_).
From this, the MoGr name for _left_, derives: *«Aριστερός, -ρή, ρό»* [a.ɾis̠.t̠e̞ˈɾo̞s̠] (masc.), [a.ɾis̠.t̠e̞ˈɾi] (fem.), [a.ɾis̠.t̠e̞ˈɾo̞] (neut.).

The ancients however, used another euphemism which replaced «ἀριστερός» in every-day usage, the adj. *«εὐώνυμος, -μον» euṓnŭmŏs* (masc. & fem.), *euṓnŭmŏn* (neut.) --> _of good name = _adv. *«εὖ» eû* + neuter noun *«ὄνομα» ónŏmă*

So, the ancient Greeks used a euphemism of a euphemism for _left_.

In ancient Greek poetry, the preferred name is *«λαιός, -ά, -όν» laiós* (masc.), *laiā́* (fem.), *laión* (neut.) with cognates the Lat. lævus, Proto-Slavic *lěvъ, from PIE *leh₂-i-uo- _left_.


----------



## bearded

symposium said:


> the right side is "il lato destro", so no obvious connection between the two words (right hand/human rights)


But please do not forget that in Italian there's an idiom ''a dritta e a manca'' (old Italian for ''on the right and on the left'', i.e. everywhere) and that in seamen's language ''a dritta'' is ''on the right hand''.  Besides, ''dritto'' (upright) is but a shortened form of ''diritto'' (right as in human right).  Evidently, some (old) connections do exist.
However, it is true that the current term for ''right hand'' is ''destra'', and etymologically the root of the adjective ''destro'' is different from that of ''d(i)ritto''.
The Latin adjective ''dexter'', from which our ''destro'', contains the same dex- root as Greek _dex-iòs _(see above), combined with the suffix -ter (originally comparative, i.e. a hand other than the left one..). This suffix is also a very common comparative suffix in Greek. The word ''dexter'' clearly shows the common IE origin of Latin and Greek.


----------



## Apollodorus

bearded said:


> The word ''dexter'' clearly shows the common IE origin of Latin and Greek.


It certainly shows that. The only difference is that in Greek, “right” in the sense of entitlement would be _dikaíōma_ (δικαίωμα), literally, “just action” or “that which is judged to be just or correct in accordance with established custom”, from _dikē_ (δίκη), “established custom, justice”, from which also _dikaiosynē_ (δικαιοσύνη), “righteousness”:

“… what we laid down in the beginning as a universal requirement when we were founding our city, is justice (_dikaiosynē_) … justice is the name you would have to give to the principle conducing to the virtue of the state … the chief aim of the rulers when deciding in lawsuits will be that no one shall have what belongs to others or be deprived of his own on the assumption that this is just …” (Plato, _Republic_ 4.433a ff.).

The legal or moral sense is connected with "just, justice" (_díkaios, dikē_) rather than with "right (hand)" (_dexiós_).


----------



## Penyafort

The religious component may well have had something to do in associating the right side with the correct side (_Jesus sitting on the right side_, etc). We can see how the word for 'right' has been maintained in all of the Romance languages, while the one for the 'left' has been preferably changed, the Latin word for it even adopting a _sinister_ meaning.

However, the meaning of straight versus twisted and its association to proper and improper/misguided is probably common to more languages, and _di-rectus, cor-rectus, e-rectus_, etc., all come after all from that participle meaning of _rectus_ 'straight', which actually means 'that is well guided, led straight'.


----------



## apmoy70

Apollodorus said:


> It certainly shows that. The only difference is that in Greek, “right” in the sense of entitlement would be _dikaíōma_ (δικαίωμα), literally, “just action” or “that which is judged to be just or correct in accordance with established custom”, from _dikē_ (δίκη), “established custom, justice”, from which also _dikaiosynē_ (δικαιοσύνη), “righteousness”:
> 
> “… what we laid down in the beginning as a universal requirement when we were founding our city, is justice (_dikaiosynē_) … justice is the name you would have to give to the principle conducing to the virtue of the state … the chief aim of the rulers when deciding in lawsuits will be that no one shall have what belongs to others or be deprived of his own on the assumption that this is just …” (Plato, _Republic_ 4.433a ff.).
> 
> The legal or moral sense is connected with "just, justice" (_díkaios, dikē_) rather than with "right (hand)" (_dexiós_).


Are you suggesting that «δίκη», «δικαιοσύνη», «δικαίωμα» are cognates with «δεξιός»?


----------



## Apollodorus

What I’m saying is that unlike in some other (European) languages, the Greek word for “right” in the legal and moral sense is not based on the word for “right (hand/side)” but on the word for “just, justice”.

Hence “you are right” is “_eheis dikio _(έχεις δίκιο)”, not “_eheis dexio _(έχεις δεξιό)”.

“Right” in the sense of “right hand or side”, i.e. _dexiós_ (δεξιός), is from IE *_deḱs_-, “right”.

“Right” in the sense of “correct, righteous”, i.e. _díkaios_ (δίκαιος), is from IE *_deiḱ_-, “to show”.

One could, I suppose, say that one uses the right hand to show or point and thus suggest a connection between “right” and “show”, but that’s another story …. 🙂


----------



## berndf

Apollodorus said:


> What I’m saying is that unlike in some other (European) languages, the Greek word for “right” in the legal and moral sense is not based on the word for “right (hand/side)” but on the word for “just, justice”.


It is the other way round: In many modern European languages, the word for the direction/side _right_ is derived from the meaning _right = straight, just, correct_.


----------



## Apollodorus

The suggestion at #2, etc. seems to be that righteousness is associated with the right hand:


Abu Rashid said:


> Probably due to the association of right handedness with righteousness and left handedness with wickedness.



What I was trying to say was that in Greek the two are unconnected.

Besides, if "In many modern European languages, the word for the direction/side _right_ is derived from the meaning _right = straight, just, correct", _then it is not so _in some_.

Either way, I can't see a connection in Greek which seems to use two different words.


----------



## berndf

In Latin and in Ancient Greek, the direction right (_δεξιός_ and _dexter,_ respectively) was associated with good fortune, like in Hebrew and Arabic. The modern association with just or straight in many European languages seems to be medieval development, which caused replacement of the historical words for the direction in some languages, like replacement of _dêtre _by _droit _in French or _swiþra _by _riht/right_ in English.


----------



## Derakhshan

berndf said:


> In Latin and in Ancient Greek, the direction right (_δεξιός_ and _dexter,_ respectively) was associated with good fortune, like in Hebrew and Arabic. The modern association with just or straight in many European languages seems to be medieval development, which caused replacement of the historical words for the direction in some languages, like replacement of _dêtre _by _droit _in French or _swiþra _by _riht/right_ in English.


The association with straight exists in Persian since Middle Persian at least, راست _rāst_ both "right" and "straight". And as far as I know the only other word for "straight" in Persian is Arabic مستقيم.


----------



## berndf

Derakhshan said:


> The association with straight exists in Persian since Middle Persian at least, راست _rāst_ both "right" and "straight". And as far as I know the only other word for "straight" in Persian is Arabic مستقيم.


Do you see any relationship or do you think it is a coincidental parallel development?


----------



## Apollodorus

berndf said:


> In Latin and in Ancient Greek, the direction right (_δεξιός_ and _dexter,_ respectively) was associated with good fortune, like in Hebrew and Arabic. The modern association with just or straight in many European languages seems to be medieval development, which caused replacement of the historical words for the direction in some languages, like replacement of _dêtre _by _droit _in French or _swiþra _by _riht/right_ in English.



Sure. But there is semantic association/connection and etymological association/connection. My original post (in response to @bearded, #22) was about the absence of etymological connection between the Greek words for "right" in the moral or legal sense and "right" in the sense of right hand/side/direction.

Latin _dexter _and Greek _dexios _are etymologically connected, as stated by @bearded, but not Greek _dexios _and _dikaios_. In other words, unlike some other European languages mentioned in the OP, Greek does not use the same word for "(legal/moral) right" and "right (hand/side").


----------



## berndf

Apollodorus said:


> In other words, unlike some other European languages mentioned in the OP, Greek does not use the same word for "(legal/moral) right" and "right (hand/side").


Latin _dexter _didn't have this association either. Rather, both _δεξιός_ and _dexter_ were associated with _good fortune_.


----------



## Derakhshan

berndf said:


> Do you see any relationship or do you think it is a coincidental parallel development?


Seems I was wrong--_rāst_ meant "true, straight" but *not* "right" in Middle Persian. "Right" was _dašn_, cognate with the Latin & IE terms.

It seems Persian had the same development as the European languages you mentioned, and the original word for "right" got replaced like in English and French.


----------



## Apollodorus

berndf said:


> Latin _dexter _didn't have this association either.



I didn't say it had. But whereas as stated in the OP some languages use one word, Greek uses two different words: 

English "right", German "recht/Recht", Spanish "derecho", etc.

But Greek "dexiós" (δεξιός) and "díkaios" (δίκαιος).


----------



## berndf

Yes, that is understood. I pointed out that Latin behaved exactly the same. _Dexter_ also did *not* mean _just _or_ straight_ but did mean _of good fortune_, just like Ancient Greek _δεξιός_ did. _Dexter_ and _δεξιός_ were not only cognate but they shared the same to separate meanings: _right _(as apposed to_ left_) and _of good fortune_. And, interestingly, Hebrew and Arabic share the same association.


----------



## Apollodorus

berndf said:


> And, interestingly, Hebrew and Arabic share the same association.


I agree. Connections between languages (and cultures) are very interesting and important. 🙂


----------

