Dret

Dret is a Catalan term used to refer to law and to the concept of a right or entitlement. In legal and political contexts, dret denotes the body of rules that govern a society and the recognized capacities of individuals or groups to demand or obtain benefits, protections, or freedoms. The word appears in phrases such as dret constitucional (constitutional law), dret internacional (international law), dret penal (criminal law), and dret civil (civil law). When discussing rights, it is common to encounter expressions like drets humans (human rights) and drets de propietat (property rights). The study or profession is described as estudiar dret or una carrera de dret (a law degree).

Etymology and related terms: Dret in Catalan shares a common origin with similar terms in Romance languages. It is cognate with French droit, Spanish derecho, and Portuguese direito, all derived from Latin directus, via historical development in legal language. The primary sense connects to correctness or straightness historically, which in legal usage evolved into the concept of law or a right.

Other notes: A closely related form, dreta (or dreta in the feminine spelling), exists in Catalan and means the right-hand side or the direction of turning to the right; it is distinct from dret but linked in etymology. The term dret is widely used in modern Catalan-speaking contexts and remains standard in legal texts, education, and public discourse.