Recht German · revision 35153

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century|origins=ine-pro *h₃reǵ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʁɛçt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Recht''' ''n'' (genitive Rechtes or Rechts, plural Rechte)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|reht]], [[inh|goh|reht]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*reht]], [[inh|gem-pro|*rehtą|t=right, privilege]], the neuter of the adjective [[recht]] used as a noun.^(Kluge 2011|751)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) It is matched by [[osx|reht]], [[ang|riht]] (modern [[en|right]]), [[ofs|riucht]] and [[nl|recht]].^(Kluge 2011|751)^(Pfeifer 1993) The Grimms note that this neuter noun is found only in West Germanic: there is no Gothic equivalent.^(DWB|14, 364)

+

+ Beside it stands an independent noun of the same root, [[gem-pro|*rehtu-]], continued in [[non|réttr|t=law, legal claim]] (masculine) and [[sga|recht|t=law, order]].^(Kluge 2011|751)^(Pfeifer 1993) Wiktionary adds that Celtic legal vocabulary may have influenced the Germanic noun.^(Wiktionary) The adjective goes back to [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-|t=to straighten, direct]] (see the adjective's entry).^(Kroonen 2013)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''reht'' is recorded from the 8th century.^(Kluge 2011|751)^(Pfeifer 1993) In Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and other texts it meant “right, justice, law, commandment, duty”, also “true faith, truth”, in phrases such as ''mit rehte'' “rightly” and ''reht sprechan'' “to judge”.^(Schützeichel 2012|256)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Grimms see in ''Recht'' at first a person's fixed place in a divinely ordered society, with the duties and claims that went with it, and then the norm on which that order rests.^(DWB|14, 364) The ''Sachsenspiegel'' says ''nieman enmag erwerben ander recht, wen als im angeborn ist'' (“no one can acquire a status other than the one he was born to”).^(DWB|14, 364) In Middle High German ''reht'' also meant a law book, a court, a trial and a verdict.^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ Wahrig describes the development as going from “what is right” through “claim” to “law”.^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) The abstract sense “law, legal order” is the main modern one, with ''Rechte'' in the plural as the old name for the study of law;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Rechtswissenschaft'' dates from the end of the 18th century.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993) English took some German legal terms in ''-recht'' as loan translations, such as ''fist-law'' (1831) and ''father right'' (1899).^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''reht'' is recorded.^(Kluge 2011|751)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * c. 1000 – the verb ''rehtōn'' “to do justice to” (modern ''rechten'') appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Late 18th century – ''Rechtswissenschaft'' is formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1831 – English ''fist-law'' is recorded as a loan translation.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|law|alt=Law]]: the body of rules set or recognised by a state: ''das deutsche Recht'', ''gegen geltendes Recht verstoßen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated, plural)'' Law as a subject of study, [[Jura]]: ''Sie studierte die Rechte in Leipzig.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # A [[m|en|right]], an entitlement or claim: ''das Recht auf Bildung'', ''Wir haben ein Recht darauf.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|justice|alt=Justice]], the state of being in the right: ''im Recht sein'', ''mit Recht'' “rightly”, ''Recht haben'' “to be right”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A [[m|en|court]] of law; a judgement.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rechtlich]]

+ * [[rechten]]

+ * [[rechtens]]

+ * [[Unrecht]]

+ * [[Rechthaber]]

+ * [[Rechtsanwalt]]

+ * [[Rechtswissenschaft]]

+ * [[Faustrecht]]

+ * [[rechtskräftig]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[recht]]

+ * [[richten]]

+ * [[Gericht]]

+ * [[en|right]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Recht'' in ''recht haben'', ''jemandem recht geben'' is often written small, which Paul takes as a sign that speakers no longer feel it as a noun.^(Paul 2002) ''Recht muss Recht bleiben'' goes back to Psalm 94:15, and ''Recht sprechen'' means “to pass judgement”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}