right /'rīt/ n [Old English riht, from riht righteous]
1 a: qualities (as adherence to duty or obedience to lawful authority) that together constitute the ideal of moral propriety or merit moral approval
b: something that is morally just
able to distinguish right from wrong
2: something to which one has a just claim: as
a: a power, privilege, or condition of existence to which one has a natural claim of enjoyment or possession
the right of liberty
that all men...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable right s — Declaration of Independence see also natural right
b: a power, privilege, immunity, or capacity the enjoyment of which is secured to a person by law
one's constitutional right s
c: a legally enforceable claim against another that the other will do or will not do a given act
the defendant may be under a legal duty...to exercise reasonable care for the plaintiff's safety, so that the plaintiff has a corresponding legal right to insist on that care — W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
d: the interest that one has in property: a claim or title to property
— often used in pl.
a security interest is not enforceable...and does not attach unless...the debtor has right s in the collateral — Uniform Commercial Code
leasing mineral right s see also real right
e pl: the interest in property possessed (as under copyright law) in an intangible thing and esp. an item of intellectual property
obtained publishing right s
3: a privilege given stockholders to subscribe pro rata to a new issue of securities generally below market price
right·ful /-fəl/ adj
right·ful·ly /-fə-lē/ adv
of right
1: as an absolute right
2: demandable or enforceable under the law
appeal of right to the circuit courts of appeal — L. H. Campbell
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.