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Origin and history of wrong

wrong(adj.)

late Old English, "twisted, crooked, wry" (senses now obsolete), from Old Norse rangr, earlier *vrangr "crooked, wry, wrong," from Proto-Germanic *wrang-, a nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn," which according to Watkins is from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend."

Germanic cognates include Danish vrang "crooked, wrong," Middle Dutch wranc, Dutch wrang "sour, bitter," literally "that which distorts the mouth." Wrong thus would be etymologically a negative of right (adj.1), which is related to Latin rectus, literally "straight."*

The sense of "not right, bad, immoral, unjust, deviating from what is right or proper" developed by c. 1300. The meaning "not in accordance with reality" is by mid-14c.; of persons, "in a state of misconception or error," by early 15c. It is by mid-14c. as "less desirable or suitable" (of two).

As an adverb from c. 1200, "not rightly, incorrectly." To go wrong is in Shakespeare. Related: Wrongness; wrongish (1849).

To get up on the wrong side (of the bed) "be in a bad mood" is recorded from 1801, according to OED (1989), from its supposed influence on one's temper; it appears in Halliwell's "Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words" in 1846, but doesn't seem to have been used much generally before late 1870s.

To rise on the right side (of the bed) is proverbial by 1560s indicating either good luck or a good disposition. To be on the wrong side of a given age, "older than," is from 1660s. Wrong side of the road (that reserved for oncoming traffic) is by 1791. To be from (or on) the wrong side of the tracks "from the poor part of town" is from 1921, American English.

* Latin pravus was literally "crooked," but most commonly "wrong, bad;" and other words for "crooked" also have meant "wrong" in Italian and Slavic. Compare French tort "wrong, injustice," from Latin tortus "twisted."

wrong(n.)

late Old English, "that which is improper or wicked," from wrong (adj.). The meaning "an unjust action or anything contrary to right or justice" is recorded from c. 1200.

To be in the wrong "acting or being wrongly" is by c. 1400; phrase the wrong for "that which is wrong" is attested from c. 1300.

wrong(v.)

"do harm or injustice to," early 14c., wrongen, from wrong (adj.). Related: Wronged; wronging.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to wrong

right(adj.1)

[correct, morally correct, direct] Old English riht, of actions, "just, good, fair, in conformity with moral law; proper, fitting, according to standard; rightful, legitimate, lawful; correct in belief, orthodox;" of persons or their characters, "disposed to do what is good or just;" also literal, "straight, not bent; direct, being the shortest course; erect," from Proto-Germanic *rehtan.

This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," also "to rule, to lead straight, to put right" (source also of Greek orektos "stretched out, upright;" Latin rectus "straight, right;" Old Persian rasta- "straight; right," aršta- "rectitude;" Old Irish recht "law;" Welsh rhaith, Breton reiz "just, righteous, wise"). Germanic cognates include Old Frisian riucht "right," Old Saxon reht, Middle Dutch and Dutch recht, Old High German reht, German recht, Old Norse rettr, Gothic raihts.

For sense, in addition to the above, compare slang straight (adj.1) "honest, morally upright," Lithuanian teisus "right, true," literally "straight." Greek dikaios "just" (in the moral and legal sense) is from dikē "custom."

It is attested by 1580s as "in conformity with truth, fact, or reason; correct, not erroneous;" by 1590s, of persons, "thinking or acting in accordance with truth or the facts of the case." The sense of "leading in the proper or desired direction" is by 1814. Of solid figures, "having the base at right angle with the axis," 1670s. Right angle is from late 14c.

As an emphatic, meaning "you are right," it is recorded from 1580s; use as a question meaning "am I not right?" is by 1961. Extended colloquial form righto is attested by 1896.

The sense in right whale (by 1733) is said in dictionaries to be "justly entitled to the name" (a sense of right that goes back to Old English); earliest sources for the term, in New England whaling publications, list it first among whales and compare the others to it. Of persons who are socially acceptable and potentially influential (the right people) by 1842.

Right stuff "best human ingredients" is from 1848, popularized by Tom Wolfe's 1979 book about the first astronauts. The sense in in (one's) right mind is of "mentally normal or sound" (1660s).

The right way originally was "the way of moral righteousness, the path to salvation" (Old English); the sense of "correct method, what is most conducive to the end in vision" is by 1560s.

wrongdoing(n.)

also wrong-doing, "behavior opposed to what is right, injustice perpetrated by one on another;" also "physical damage sustained or inflicted;" late 14c., from wrong (n.) + doing. Wrong-doer is from late 14c. Wronger "one who commits injustice or causes injury" is from mid-15c.