English
headright
From head + right.
Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’
…
Proto-Germanic *haubudą ‘head’
Proto-West Germanic *haubud
Old English hēafod ‘head’
Middle English heed ‘head’
English head
Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’
…
Proto-Germanic *rehtaz ‘right’
Proto-West Germanic *reht ‘straight’
Old English reht
Middle English reȝt
English right
Today it means
noun A legal grant to own unsettled land in colonial America, or the land so claimed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / headright