rightly

English

Etymology

From Middle English ryȝtly, rihtliche, from Old English rihtlīċe, from Proto-West Germanic *rehtalīkā, *rehtalīkō, from Proto-Germanic *rehtalīkê, *rehtalīkô (“rightly”), equivalent to right +‎ -ly. Cognate with West Frisian rjochtlik, Dutch rechtelijk, German rechtlich, Swedish rätteligen, Icelandic réttilega.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹaɪtli/
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪtli
  • Hyphenation: right‧ly

Adverb

rightly (comparative rightlier or more rightly, superlative rightliest or most rightly)

  1. In a right manner; correctly, justifiably.
    She was quite rightly disappointed in not being promoted.
    I don't rightly know what he meant by that remark.
    • 1671, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, pages 34–35, lines 122–127:
      Princes, Heavens antient Sons, Æthereal Thrones, / Demonian Spirits now, from the Element / Each of his reign allotted, rightlier call’d, / Powers of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth beneath, / So may we hold our place and theſe mild ſeats / Without new trouble; […]
    • 1765, William Blackstone, “Of Corporations”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 469:
      As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]
    • 1909, Sidney Morse, An Encyclopaedia of Practical Recipes and Processes, The Success Company, page 21:
      If rightly used, it will save a great deal of money in every household.
    • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
      Mother very rightly resented the slightest hint of condescension. She considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, […] .
    • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 41:
      "The minute I put my nose in that door she was at me for a drop of gin, but having no instructions to supply it, and being strictly teetotal myself, I have not done so, whether rightly or wrongly I leave you to judge, doctor."
    • 2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport‎[1]:
      Steven Fletcher headed in for Wolves late on, who were denied a penalty and what appeared to be a legitimate equaliser in stoppage time.
      Wolves boss Mick McCarthy will rightly be aggrieved by those two decisions.
    • 2013 July 8, Emmett Macfarlane, “Was this the most offensive question ever asked by an MP?”, in The Globe and Mail‎[2], Toronto, ON: The Woodbridge Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 March 2023:
      It is easy to dismiss the idea that any particular political conduct is all that bad, because usually it is not, even if the general state of our politics is lamentable as a whole. In other words, it is not often that the despair many Canadians rightly feel about how partisan politics are conducted in this country is actually crystallized in an incident that truly represents "a new low" in political behaviour.
    • 2023 June 26, Nikhil Krishnan, “Aristotle’s Rules for Living Well”, in The New Yorker‎[3], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 August 2023:
      Virtue is not just about acting rightly but about feeling rightly.

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