Right of way is a term first used to describe the right to travel unhindered, to access a route regardless of land ownership or any other legality.

The right of way may be limited. If one person owns a piece of land which is bordered on all sides by lands owned by others, a court will be obliged to grant the right of way to those approved by the owner or owners of the isolated land area. It is also common practice for the public to be granted the right of way on a path or track which is in common use for a lengthy period of time (see Easement

Easement

An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...

). Public right of way is not restricted by land ownership and grants travel access to all.

Derivatives

Right of way is rarely challenged legally in modern times for public access but the phrase remains in common use as the name for various rights-to-access or rights-to-pass-by. Occasionally old passageways are known as a "right way". This does not mean the correct way to go but rather the way upon which one has the right to travel regardless of land ownership.