Where does “Rechtsgelehrter” come from?

Rechtsgelehrter (German) comes from German recht, from Middle High German reht, from Old High German reht, from Proto-West Germanic reht, from Proto-Germanic rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵtós, from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ- — to straighten, to right oneself; right; just.

Rechtsgelehrter (German): legal scholar male or of unspecified gender

Definitions

  1. legal scholar male or of unspecified gender

Ancestry of “Rechtsgelehrter”, step by step

Rechtsgelehrter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German recht

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanrechtright; proper, correct; true, real
2Middle High Germanreht
3Old High Germanrehtright
4Proto-West Germanicrehtstraight; right, correct; morally upright, just
5Proto-Germanicrehtazright, straight; morally upright, just
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃reǵtósstraightened, right, upright
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃reǵ-to straighten, to right oneself; right; just

via German Gelehrter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanGelehrterscholar, savant, pundit, man of letters,...
2Germangelehrtlearned, scholarly; past participle of lehren
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵtósEvery word from Proto-Germanic rehtaz