Origins
The word 'correct' entered English in the fourteenth century from Latin 'corrΔctus,' the past participle of 'corrigere' (to make straight, to set right, to amend).βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ The Latin verb combines 'com-' (an intensive prefix meaning 'together' or 'thoroughly') with 'regere' (to guide, to rule, to make straight). To correct something is literally to straighten it thoroughly β to bring it into alignment with a standard.
Latin 'regere' descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *hβreΗ΅-, meaning 'to move in a straight line,' 'to direct,' or 'to rule.' This root is one of PIE's most conceptually loaded: it fuses the physical idea of straightness with the social idea of authority. The person who makes things straight β who sets the line β is the ruler. The measurement that defines straightness is the rule. The condition of being straight is rightness. All of these meanings are etymologically identical.
The English descendants of *hβreΗ΅- through Latin are extraordinary in number. From 'regere' directly: 'regent' (one who rules), 'regime' (a system of rule), 'regiment' (a ruled unit), 'region' (a ruled area), 'regular' (according to rule), and 'regulate' (to subject to rule). From 'rΔx/rΔgis' (king, the ruler): 'regal' (of a king), 'reign' (the period of rule), 'royal' (via Old French 'roial'), 'regicide' (killing of a king), and 'viceroy' (one who rules in place of the king). From 'rΔctus' (straight, right, the past participle of 'regere'): 'erect' (set straight up), 'direct' (made straight), 'rectangle' (a right angle), 'rectify' (to make right), and 'rector' (one who guides straight).
Proto-Indo-European Roots
Through the Germanic branch, the same PIE root produced 'right' (from Old English 'riht,' straight, just, correct), 'rich' (originally 'powerful, ruling' in Germanic), and German 'recht' (right, law). The coincidence of 'right' meaning both 'correct' and 'the opposite of left' also traces to this root: the right hand was the 'straight' or 'correct' hand in many Indo-European cultures.
The word 'correct' itself has developed several nuances. As an adjective, it means 'free from error' or 'conforming to a standard': 'the correct answer,' 'correct behavior,' 'politically correct.' As a verb, it means 'to set right': 'correct a mistake,' 'correct a student's paper,' 'correct one's posture.' The noun 'correction' can refer to a punishment (especially in the phrase 'house of correction') as well as to an amendment β both involving the straightening of something that has gone crooked.
The compound 'politically correct' (abbreviated 'PC') became one of the most debated terms in late twentieth-century English. Originally used in left-wing circles to describe language and behavior conforming to progressive standards, it was adopted by critics as a pejorative for what they saw as excessive linguistic policing. The etymological irony is that 'correct' means 'made straight' β and the debate over political correctness is essentially a debate over who gets to define the straight line.