Origin and history of droit

late 14c., directen, "to write or address (a letter, words)" to someone, also "to point or make known a course to," from Latin directus past participle of dirigere "set straight, arrange; give a particular direction to, send in a straight line; guide" a thing, either to something or according to something, from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + regere "to direct, to guide, keep straight" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line"). Compare dress; address.

Sense of "to point or aim in a straight line toward a place or an object" is from c. 1400. Meaning "to govern, regulate as to behavior, prescribe the course or actions of" is from early 15c. Sense of "to order, ordain" is from 1650s. Sense of "to write the destination on the outside of a letter" had emerged by 17c. In reference to plays, films, etc., "to supervise and control the making of," it is attested from 1913. Related: Directed; directing.

"opposite of left," early 12c., riht, from Old English riht, which did not have this sense but meant "good, proper, fitting, straight" (see right (adj.1)). It is a specialized development of the adjective that apparently began in late Old English on the notion of the right hand as normally the stronger of the two, or perhaps the "correct," hand. By c. 1200 this was extended to that side of the body, then to its limbs, clothing, etc., and then transferred to other objects.

The usual Old English word for the opposite of left was swiþra, literally "stronger." "The history of words for 'right' and 'left' shows that they were used primarily with reference to the hands" [Buck]. Similar sense evolution in Dutch recht, German recht "right (not left)," from Old High German reht, which meant only "straight, just." Compare Latin rectus "straight; right," also from the same PIE root.

The usual PIE root (*deks-) is represented by Latin dexter. Some other "right-not-left" words derived in a similar pattern are French droit, from Latin directus "straight;" Lithuanian labas, literally "good;" and Slavic words (Bohemian pravy, Polish prawy, Russian pravyj) from Old Church Slavonic pravu, literally "straight" (from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before, first, chief").

The political sense of "conservative" is recorded by 1794 (adj.), 1825 (n.), a translation of French Droit "the Right, Conservative Party" in the French National Assembly (1789; see left (adj.)).