# what's the linguistical connection between right (direction) and right (legal right)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267 "2009-03-04T13:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/1 "2009-03-04T13:31:46Z")
I have noted that a couple of languages use the same or similar words for the direction right as well as in the sense of legal right. My examples are: English: Right, Right German: Rechts, Recht French: Droite, Droit As seen from the French example, it’s not only that the words themselves might be related (as is obviously the case between right and rechts), but there appears to be a hidden, logical connection. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/2 "2009-03-04T13:46:19Z")
It’s handism. Being right-handed is correct, the default, the way people are “supposed” to be. Anything right is good, anything left is bad, suspicious, or weak. Just don’t tell any lefties. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/3 "2009-03-04T16:54:39Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > It’s handism. Being right-handed is correct, the default, the way people are “supposed” to be. Anything right is good, anything left is bad, suspicious, or weak. One might even say anything left is sinister or gauche. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/4 "2009-03-04T17:03:17Z")
According to Robert Persig, this goes back to pre-Sanskrit days. The root word is RT, which generally means correct, proper, upstanding, pays taxes on time, sees dentist every 6 months, etc. The Greeks had a similar word , arete, which meant more or less the same thing. There are a whole bunch of other words that have RT as their root (hey, maybe even ‘root’?), but the only other one I can remember is arithmetic. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/5 "2009-03-04T17:38:18Z")
It’s found in Slavic languages as well. In Czech, “práv-” is the root for words relating to right directionally, morally, or legally, i.e. “pravda” means “truth,” “vpravo” means “on the right,” “právo” means “right” or “laws,” and “právnik” means “lawyer.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/6 "2009-03-04T17:40:54Z")
Heh. Obviously the Czechs are happier with their lawyers than we are as a culture. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/7 "2009-03-04T21:07:26Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Heh. Obviously the Czechs are happier with their lawyers than we are as a culture. 😃 It’s the Germans too: in German “Recht” is law and “recht” is right (correct). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/8 "2009-03-04T21:26:01Z")
[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=right](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=right) gives a fairly detailed explanation. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/9 "2009-03-04T21:43:29Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > It’s found in Slavic languages as well. In Czech, “práv-” is the root for words relating to right directionally, morally, or legally, i.e. “pravda” means “truth,” “vpravo” means “on the right,” “právo” means “right” or “laws,” and “právnik” means “lawyer.” 🙂 Prav is pretty far from RT. How closely related are Slav and Proto-Indo-European? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/10 "2009-03-04T23:37:30Z")
Well, let’s see. Germanic and Romance languages are here: [Indo-European languages: Centum languages](http://www.danshort.com/ie/iecentum.htm) And Slavic laguages are over here: [Indo-European languages: Satem languages](http://www.danshort.com/ie/iesatem.htm) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/11 "2009-03-05T14:05:27Z")
Awesome links! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/12 "2009-03-05T19:09:07Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > It’s found in Slavic languages as well. In Czech, “práv-” is the root for words relating to right directionally, morally, or legally, i.e. “pravda” means “truth,” “vpravo” means “on the right,” “právo” means “right” or “laws,” and “právnik” means “lawyer.” 🙂 Also in Finnish, which is an unrelated language. And in Irish. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/13 "2009-03-05T23:38:12Z")
In Latin, dexter = right and sinister = left. We generally prefer dexterity to being sinister. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-linguistical-connection-between-right-direction-and-right-legal-right/488267/14 "2009-03-06T00:00:30Z")
Even in Chinese, which is unrelated to Indo-European languages, “left” and “incorrect” are related. I wonder if it’s true for native americans.