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wright (rīt)
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n.
One that constructs or repairs something. Often used in combination: a playwright; a shipwright.

[Middle English, from Old English wryhta; see werg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Mary Kathryn Known as "Mickey." Born 1935.
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American golfer who had 82 career wins, including four US Women's Open titles (1958, 1959, 1961, and 1964) and four Ladies Professional Golf Association Championship titles (1958, 1960, 1961, and 1963).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Richard Nathaniel 1908-1960.
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American author whose writing explores the oppression suffered by African Americans. His works include the novel Native Son (1940) and the autobiography Black Boy (1945).
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Richard Wright

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Joseph 1855-1930.
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British lexicographer and philologist who is best known for the six-volume The English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Orville1871–1948.
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American aviation pioneer who with his brother Wilbur (1867–1912) invented the airplane. On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they made the first controlled, sustained flights in a powered heavier-than-air vehicle.
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Wilbur and Orville Wright

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, James Arlington 1927-1980.
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American poet who won a Pulitzer Prize for his Collected Poems (1971).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Frank Lloyd 1867-1959.
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American architect whose distinctive style, based on natural forms, had a great influence on the modern movement in architecture. His designs include private homes, the Johnson Wax Company Building in Racine, Wisconsin (1939), and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City (1959).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Frances Known as "Fanny." 1795-1852.
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Scottish-born American reformer who lectured nationwide on women's rights, birth control, and public education and wrote Views of Society and Manners in America (1821).
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Fanny Wright
19th-century engraving

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright (rīt), Benjamin 1770-1842.
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American civil engineer who directed construction of the Erie Canal.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Wright, Sewall Green 1889-1988.
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American biologist whose work in mathematical population genetics, especially the concept of genetic drift, was influential in the development of modern evolutionary biology.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.