3. Having the right or just claim according to established laws; being or holding by right; as, the rightful
heir to a throne or an estate; a rightful king.
4. Belonging, held, or possessed by right, or by just claim; as, a rightful inheritance; rightful authority.
Syn. — Just; lawful; true; honest; equitable; proper.
Rightfully
(Right"ful*ly), adv. According to right or justice.
Rightfulness
(Right"ful*ness), n.
1. The quality or state of being rightful; accordance with right and justice.
2. Moral rectitude; righteousness. [Obs.] Wyclif.
We fail of perfect rightfulness.
Sir P. Sidney. Right-hand
(Right"-hand`) a.
1. Situated or being on the right; nearer the right hand than the left; as, the right-hand side, room, or
road.
2. Chiefly relied on; almost indispensable.
Mr. Alexander Truncheon, who is their right-hand man in the troop.
Addison. Right-hand rope, a rope which is laid up and twisted with the sun, that is, in the same direction as
plain-laid rope. See Illust. of Cordage.
Right-handed
(Right"-hand`ed), a.
1. Using the right hand habitually, or more easily than the left.
2. Having the same direction or course as the movement of the hands of a watch seen in front; — said
of the motion of a revolving object looked at from a given direction.
3. (Zoöl.) Having the whorls rising from left to right; dextral; — said of spiral shells. See Illust. of Scalaria.
Right-handed screw, a screw, the threads of which, like those of a common wood screw, wind spirally
in such a direction that the screw advances away from the observer when turned with a right-handed
movement in a fixed nut.
Right-handedness
(Right"-hand`ed*ness), n. The state or quality of being right-handed; hence, skill; dexterity.
Right-hearted
(Right"-heart`ed) a. Having a right heart or disposition. — Right"-heart`ed*ness, n.
Rightless
(Right"less), a. Destitute of right. Sylvester.
Right-lined
(Right"-lined`) a. Formed by right lines; rectilineal; as, a right-lined angle.
Rightly
(Right"ly), adv. [AS. richtlice.]
1. Straightly; directly; in front. [Obs.] Shak.
2. According to justice; according to the divine will or moral rectitude; uprightly; as, duty rightly performed.
