right of wayn.
/ˌrʌɪt əv ˈweɪ/, U.S. /ˌraɪd ə(v) ˈweɪ/ 1.
a. The legal right, established by usage or grant, of a person to pass along a specific route through grounds or property belonging to another; an instance of this right. More fully right of way and passage. Also figurative.
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society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right of way
gate-lawa1642
way1653
right of way1765
carriageway1790
right of ramblage1887
a1638 R. Brownlow Rep. Diverse Cases: 2nd Pt. (1651) 10 The Atturney came and moved the Court for a Prohibition, and it was granted to him, for they could not determine the right of a way.]
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. Introd. 77 As if I have a right of way by custom over another's field, the early custom is not destroyed, though I do not pass for ten years.
1787 T. Leach W. Hawkins's Treat. Pleas (ed. 6) I. i. lxxvi. 385 The said old highway shall only be sold subject to the right of way and passage to such lands, house, or place respectively.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 129 Where a person has a right of way over another's close, and he purchases such close, his right of way is extinguished by the unity of seisin.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 153/1 The proper origin of a private right of way is, a grant from the owner of the soil, whose means of enjoying his own property are abridged thereby.
1890 Spectator 30 Aug. 266/2 Lord Salisbury..insisted upon rights-of-way being established between the British lane and the coast.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience xviii. 432 To redeem religion from unwholesome privacy, and to give public status and universal right of way to its deliverances, has been reason's task.
1917 Southern Reporter 61 448/1 Plaintiff agreeing not to the use property of the defendant for any other purpose than was necessary and proper for operating the said sawmill, together with the necessary right of way and passage over and across the land for hauling purposes.
1948 Univ. Pennsylvania Law Rev. 97 128 Both parties thought the right of way passing with the land was ‘undisputed and unchallenged’, when in fact it was disputed.
2001 Estates Gaz. 30 June 161/2 They had a strong case for claiming a private right of way based upon prescription or the assertion of a way of necessity.
b. North American. The right to build and operate a railway line, road, or public utility on land belonging to another, esp. the state; an instance of this right.
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society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right of way > for railway
right of way1830
1830 Fourth Ann. Rep. Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road 145 Effecting a settlement of the pending controversy between the two companies, in relation to the right of way for the contemplated Rail Road and Canal, along the left bank of the Potomac river.
1837 Army & Navy Chron. 12 Jan. 29/1 The Committee on Roads and Canals be instructed to inquire into the expediency of giving the right of way through the public lands for the railroads proposed to be made in Florida..and the right of way..to make a canal or railroad through the public lands.
1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West 419 In return they grant the right of way to two railroads.
1883 Rep. Indian Affairs (U.S.) p. xxii I had the honor to submit to the Department..the draft of a bill..to grant a right of way to the Carson and Colorado Railroad Company.
1895 Times (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) Apr. 1/3 The right-of-way for the new road has been procured for almost the entire distance.
1921 W. F. Rench Roadway & Track 29 Where a right of way is granted merely as an easement during such time as it shall be used for the purpose of a railroad, it may be lost by intentional abandonment.
2003 Atlanta Mag. Feb. 90/2 The chamber..calls for the creation of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system..—train-like vehicles that run on tires and use both existing public roads, HOV lanes and dedicated right of way.
2.
a. A path or thoroughfare of which a person may lawfully make use, esp. one crossing the property of another.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun] > which one may lawfully use
right of way1805
usage1829
trek path1934
BOAT1974
1805 Times 7 Nov. 4/1 In passing through the inclosures belonging to the Defendant, he arrived at a gate which was fastened, and, considering it a public way, he forced the lock... [He] wrote... I always considered it a public right of way.
1855 J. F. MacQueen Rep. Sc. Appeals 451 The terminus of a public right of way need not itself be a public place.
1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 177 I went into a right-of-way, and showed about a hair-breadth of my right eye in the direction of the shop.
1934 B. Lehmann Rumour of Heaven i. ii. 20 The track along the river is a right of way from the marshes through the woods to the nearest village.
1991 Which? June 346/3 Highway authorities may not have the upkeep of rights of way very high on their list of priorities.
2001 A. Taylor Death's Own Door (2002) xxxiv. 263 Even if you'd closed the gates, I could have hoofed it. It's a right of way, according to my map.
b. North American. A stretch of land on which right of way (sense 1b) is acquired and a railway line or road built; the land used by a public utility for pipelines, etc.
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society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > land on which railway is built
right of way1855
1855 Rep. Comm. Condition of Var. Railroad Companies State of Missouri 56 The Company relinquishes to the contractors all right they have to timber or other materials on the right of way, or on the government lands.
1888 Fifteenth Ann. Rep. Board Agric. State of N.J. 307 Railroads are obliged to keep their right of way cleared; safety strips next to the right of way are planted with thin-leaved trees like the birches.
1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail lx. 407 On either side of the right-of-way lay mystery in the shape of thickets.
1926 Amer. City Apr. 358/1 One of the most recent developments in highway design is the so-called super-highway where eight or more traffic lanes are provided for on the same right of way.
1931 H. F. Pringle Theodore Roosevelt i. viii. 94 The locomotives of the Northern Pacific were still a novelty to those who lived along the right of way.
1966 Imperial Oil Rev. June 9/1 Hydro uses muskeg vehicles..in maintenance work along its right-of-way.
1993 Nature Conservancy Nov.–Dec. 14/1 Packard spent the following summer scrounging in..golf courses, railroad right-of-ways and horse trails, collecting seeds of his ‘oddball’ plants.
3.
a. The right or ability to travel along a given thoroughfare in the face of the claims of other road users; spec. the legal right of a pedestrian, rider, or driver to proceed with precedence over other road users at a specific point or in a particular situation.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > right of way
right of way1860
priority1929
1849 Sailor's Mag. May 266/2 The storm which comes down, as if with a personal presence, and disputes your vessel's right of way.]
1860 W. H. Russell My Diary in India 1858–9 II. ii. 33 At the fords and on the bridges, elephants, camels, horses, and their varieties were jammed together with soldiers and camp-followers, and bazaar people struggling for the right of way.
1863 Ladies Repository Oct. 177/1 The yell of defiance as they [sc. long trains of cars] approach the ‘crossings’, where the lumbering wagon and weary pedestrian still contest the right of way.
1888 Amer. & Eng. Railroad Cases 34 105 They..turned out for the approaching wagon, because it was usual at that portion of the route to give the right of way to incoming wagons.
1934 Glasgow Herald 16 Apr. 11/5 There must be crossing-places where the pedestrians' right of way is inviolable and the motorist must pass over at his peril.
1969 A. MacLean Puppet on Chain i. 17 Two overpolite people, each bent on giving the right of way to the other, sidestep with such maladroit effectiveness that they succeed only in blocking each other's way.
1975 N.Y. Times 31 Oct. 38/2 Sylvester Lachut was cited by a Castle Shannon patrolman for failing to yield the right-of-way at a street crossing.
2005 K. Ascher The Works: Anat. of City i. i. 6 Their primary purpose is to control right-of-way at intersections.
b. The right of a ship, boat, aircraft, etc., to proceed with precedence over others in a particular situation.
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society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun] > custom or rule of navigation > right of way
right of way1860
1860 W. P. Lennox Pict. Sporting Life II. v. 122 Steamers are required to give the right of way to sailing-vessles on all courses.
1880 Sportsman's Gazetteer (ed. 5) i. 624 Remember that on the wind the starboard tack has the right of way over the port; and that a vessel sailing on the wind has the right of way over one that has her sheet off.
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings v. 118 On this occasion there was good reason for the delay, as we ceded the right of way to a hospital ship.
1958 U.S. & Canad. Aviation Reports 453 The take-off airplane pilot was solely at fault for failing to yield right-of-way to the descending seaplane.
1969 Jrnl. Inst. Navigation 22 292 Should vessels using routing schemes have right of way over vessels crossing recognised routes?
2004 K. Yeomans Dead Men Tapping 72 A vessel restricted in her ability to maneuver has the right of way over any other vessels in motion around her.
c. Sport. The right, laid down in the rules or code of etiquette, of one competitor or participant to take precedence over another in a particular situation.
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1887 H. Hall Tribune Bk. Open-air Sports iii. 60 A player in possession of the ball, viz.: the one who has struck, has the right of way, and must not be crossed.
1921 J. F. Wall As to Mil. Training vi. 306 If you have the right of way and a clear shot, get your pony going fast.
1963 Amer. Speech 38 204 Reference is made to..trail hogs who do not give the right of way to slower skiers.
1967 M. Green Art of Coarse Golf x. 110 The general rule of etiquette in Coarse Golf seems to be that solo players have right of way over all matches.
2001 L. Weiss & J. Stockwell Blue Crush (film script) (O.E.D. Archive) 47 You gotta make sure no one else has the wave. The surfer closest to the curl has the right of way.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
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1864 Jrnl. Jurispr. 8 411 The decision of the new Elgin right of way case.
1914 J. B. Bickersteth Land of Open Doors 51 The right-of-way-cutters..cut down and burn the timber and brush to a width of a hundred feet.
1957 Commonwealth 4 Dec. 23/1 Right-of-way maintenance has been improved, and all right-of-way are now mowed.
1974 G. Ryga Hungry Hills (new ed.) 347 I was nearing the intersection where our street met the main highway, when a gasoline truck came roaring around the right-of-way circle.
1991 L. Sante Low Life i. iii. 47 The function of the police was to..quell right-of-way disputes with the aid of their clubs.
C2.
right-of-way man n. U.S. (now historical and rare) a person who surveys and negotiates for a right of way, esp. on behalf of a railway company.
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the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveyor > of railway
right-of-way man1846
1846 A. J. Marshall in B. C. Howard Rep. Supreme Court U.S. (1855) 16 316 No delegation are more skilful or less scrupulous at this game than our western right-of-way men.
1904 F. Lynde Grafters xxviii. 361 Our right-of-way man has just sent a telegram to all agents.
1998 J. Broadbent (book title) Right-of-way man: clearing the path for our nation's highways.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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