Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STRAIGHT, a. [strait; L. strictus, from stringo; Sax. strac; formed from the root of reach, stretch, right, L. rectus, G. recht, Fr. etroit, It. stretto, in which the palatal letter is lost; but the Spanish retains it in estrecho, estrechar. It is lost in the Port. estreito. It is customary to write straight, for direct or right, and strait, for narrow, but this is a practice wholly arbitrary, both being the same word. Strait we use in the sense in which it is used in the South of Europe. Both senses proceed from stretching, straining.]

1. Right, in a mathematical sense; direct; passing from one point to another by the nearest course; not deviating or crooked; as, a straight line; a straight course; a straight piece of timber.
2. Narrow; close; tight; as, a straight garment. [See Strait, as it is generally written.]
3. Upright; according with justice and rectitude; not deviating from truth or fairness.