adjective
General Slang
Righteous
/ˈraɪtʃəs/ · adjective · slang
Genuinely fine, excellent, the real thing, beyond reproach.
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Definitions
1
Used as emphatic praise, meaning real and proper.
“We had a righteous time at the dance.”
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2
Excellent, first-rate, and authentic; the genuine article.
“That's a righteous tune, gate.”
by community
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3
Of a person, fine and admirable in every way.
“She's a righteous gal, true blue all the way.”
by community
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Righteous In A Sentence
Now that's righteous music, none of that watered-down stuff.
He plays a righteous horn, sweet and true.
She gave me a righteous plate of food.
Origin & Usage
1930s-40s Harlem jive slang, shifting the church word 'righteous' into secular praise meaning genuine and excellent. It appears in hepster glossaries of the Cab Calloway era and reflects jive's habit of repurposing everyday words.
Variants
righteous moss (real hair)
People Also Ask
What does righteous mean in jive slang?
It means genuinely fine, excellent, or authentic, the real thing.
Where did the slang 'righteous' come from?
From 1930s-40s Harlem jive, which borrowed the church word and gave it a secular meaning of excellent.
Is this the same 'righteous' surfers used later?
It's the ancestor of it; the jive sense of 'excellent' passed down through generations of slang.
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