Where does “Rechtspflege” come from?

Rechtspflege (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.

Rechtspflege (German): justice, long arm of the law

Definitions

  1. justice, long arm of the law

Ancestry of “Rechtspflege”, step by step

Rechtspflege 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 pflege

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanpflegeinflection of pflegen: ## first-person singular...
2Middle High Germanpflege
3Old High Germanpflega
4Proto-West Germanicplegōcare; an exercise; a game
5Proto-West GermanicCreates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent...
6Proto-Germanic-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanDerives nouns from roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ-