by right
/ˌbaɪ̯ ˈɹaɪ̯t/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.88 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
According to what is right, or what one is legally or morally entitled to; justly, properly, rightfully.
Example Sentences
- "The post of vice-president should, by right, have been given to John."
- "Whiche praise, with the honour thereunto due, as inheritaunce discendeth by righte unto his most noble sonne, our moste dere soueraigne lorde that nowe presently raigneth. For, as Tulli [i.e., Marcus Tullius Cicero] saithe, the best inheritance that the fathers leue to their children, excellynge all other patrimonie, is the glorie or praise of vertue and noble actis."
- "A huſband and a ſon thou ovveſt to me, / And thou a kingdome, all of you allegeance: / The ſorrovv that I haue by right is yours, / And all the pleaſures you vſurpe are mine."
- "Ovve not all Creatures by juſt right to thee / Duty and Service, nor to ſtay till bid, / But tender all their povver?"
- "[T]all and stately men, and fair ladies, worthy of the days when the gentry of England were by due right the leaders of the people, by personal prowess and beauty, as well as by intellect and education."
- "Well, whether the gentlemen really do deprive us of any little matters which ought to be ours by rights, I cannot say for certain; but the opinion of the old ones is they do."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌbaɪ̯ ˈɹaɪ̯t/
- British English: /ˌbaɪ̯ ˈɹaɪ̯t/