Etymology

alright

A1L1R1I1G2H4T1

Today it means: Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance; OK. Full definition →

English right ← Middle English all ← Old English eall
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂elnós
  3. Proto-Germanic*allaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*all
  5. Old Englisheall
  6. Middle Englishall
  7. Englishall
  8. Englishright
  9. English todayalright

Univerbation of all + right. Compare Old English eallriht (“all-right, just, exactly”) (from eall + riht), equivalent to al- (“all”) + right.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.