# righteous
## English
### Alternative forms

* rightuous, rightwise (obsolete)

### Etymology

From earlier rightuous, rightwose, rightwos, rightwise, from Middle English rightwise, rightwis, from Old English rihtwīs (“righteous, just”), corresponding to right +‎ -wise (with assimilation of second element to -ous), or to right +‎ wise (“way, manner”). Cognate with Scots richtwis (“righteous”), Old High German rehtwīsic (“righteous, just”), Icelandic réttvíss (“righteous, just”). Compare also thefteous, mighteous.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəs/
* (obsolete) IPA: /ˈɹaɪtjəs/, /ˈɹaɪti.əs/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɪtʃəs

### Adjective

righteous (comparative more righteous, superlative most righteous)
* Free from sin or guilt.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 28:1:The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bolde as a lyon.
* Moral and virtuous, perhaps to the point of sanctimony.
    Human beings should take a righteous path, and so should art. We should promote kindness and beauty through art.
* Justified morally.
    righteous indignation
* (slang, US) Awesome; great.
** 1986, John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Motion Picture), spoken by Grace Wheelberg (Edie McClurg):The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.
** 1995, Norman L. Russell, Doug Grad, Suicide Charlie: A Vietnam War Story, page 191:He sold me a bulging paper sack full of Cambodian Red for two dolla' MPC. A strange experience, copping from a kid, but it was righteous weed.
** 2008, Stephen King, Graduation Afternoon:Tonight the kids will go out and party down in a more righteous mode. Alcohol and not a few tabs of X will be ingested. Club music will throb through big speakers.
* (slang, US) Major; large; significant.
** 2021, G. S. Jennsen, Amaranthe V: Riven:He found Richard in one piece near a large circular container, thankfully, staring at a righteous mess of blood and gore.

#### Derived terms

* overrighteous
* righteous among the nations
* righteously
* righteousness
* self-righteous
* unrighteous
* uprighteous

#### Translations

Arabic: صَالِح (ar) (ṣāliḥ)
Bulgarian: праведен (bg) (praveden)
Czech: nevinný m, ctnostný m
Dutch: onschuldig (nl), rechtschapen (nl),
Egyptian: (mꜣꜥtj)
Finnish: synnitön (fi)
French: juste (fr) m or f
Ge'ez: ጻድቅ (ṣadḳ)
German: rechtschaffen (de)
Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (garaihts)
Greek:
Ancient: δίκαιος (díkaios)
Hebrew: צדיק (he), צדיק (he) m, צדיקה f
Hungarian: igaz (hu), derék (hu), jóravaló (hu), becsületes (hu), tisztességes (hu)
Italian: immacolato (it)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: bêguneh (ku)
Macedonian: пра́веден (práveden)
Maori: tapatahi
Middle Persian: ahlaw
Persian: درستکار (fa) (dorostkâr)
Portuguese: inocente (pt)
Romanian: neprihănit (ro) m, neprihănită f
Russian: доброде́тельный (dobrodételʹnyj), пра́ведный (ru) (právednyj)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: chytšy
Spanish: inmaculado (es), inocente (es)
Swedish: rättskaffens (sv), rättfärdig (sv)
Ukrainian: праведний (uk) m (pravednyj), доброчесний m (dobročesnyj) :

### Verb

righteous (third-person singular simple present righteouses, present participle righteousing, simple past and past participle righteoused)
* To make righteous; specifically, to justify religiously, to absolve from sin.
** 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 101:Thus for the purposes of being ‘righteoused’, the Law was irrelevant; yet Paul could not bear to see all the Law disappear.

### References

* ↑ Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎, volumes I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 12.41, page 346.