arbitrary

English

WOTD – 4 December 2006

Etymology

From Middle English arbitrarie, Latin arbitrārius (“arbitrary, uncertain”), from arbiter (“witness, on-looker, listener, judge, overseer”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹə.ɹi/, /ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹi/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹ.bɪ.tɹɛ(ə).ɹi/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (AU):

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Adjective

arbitrary (comparative more arbitrary, superlative most arbitrary)

1. (usually of a decision) Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.

   Benjamin Franklin's designation of "positive" and "negative" to different charges was arbitrary.

   The decision to use 18 years as the legal age of adulthood was arbitrary, as both age 17 and 19 were reasonable alternatives.

2. Determined by impulse rather than reason; heavy-handed.
   • Albert Einstein, letter to Max Born

     The Russian trials were Stalin's purges, with which he attempted to consolidate his power. Like most people in the West, I believed these show trials to be the arbitrary acts of a cruel dictator.

   • Frank Gelett Burgess

     The bromide conforms to everything sanctioned by the majority, and may be depended upon to be trite, banal, and arbitrary.

3. (mathematics) Any, out of all that are possible.

   The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x.

4. Determined by independent arbiter.
5. (linguistics) Not representative or symbolic; not iconic.

Derived terms

• arbitrarily
• arbitrariness
• arbitrary-precision

 

Related terms

• arbit
• arbiter
• arbitrable
• arbitrage
• arbitrary and capricious
• arbitrate
• arbitration
• arbitrator

 

Translations

based on individual discretion or judgment

• Asturian: arbitrariu
• Belarusian: адво́льны m (advólʹny)
• Bulgarian: произволен (bg) (proizvolen), своеволен (bg) (svoevolen)
• Catalan: arbitrari (ca)
• Czech: libovolný (cs) m
• Danish: arbitrær (da)
• Dutch: willekeurig (nl), arbitrair (nl)
• Finnish: mielivaltainen (fi)
• French: arbitraire (fr)
• Galician: arbitrario
• Georgian: დაუსაბუთებელი (dausabutebeli)
• German: willkürlich (de), nach Ermessen, in freiem Ermessen, frei (de), Ermessens-
• Greek: αυθαίρετος (el) (afthaíretos)
• Hindi: यादृच्छिक (hi) m (yādŕcchik)
• Icelandic: geðþóttalegur
• Ido: arbitriala (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingue:
• Irish: ar togradh, aondeonach
• Italian: arbitrario (it) m, arbitraria f
• Japanese: 恣意的な (ja) (しいてきな, shiiteki-na)
• Latin: arbitrārius
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vilkårlig (no)

  Nynorsk: vilkårleg

• Polish: arbitralny (pl), umowny (pl), dowolny (pl)
• Portuguese: arbitrário (pt) m, arbitrária (pt) f
• Romanian: arbitrar (ro)
• Russian: произво́льный (ru) (proizvólʹnyj)
• Spanish: arbitrario (es)
• Swedish: godtycklig (sv)
• Tagalog: alitakdain
• Turkish: keyfî (tr), isteğe bağlı, ihtiyarî (tr)

unrestrained by law; tyrannical

• Bulgarian: деспотичен (bg) (despotičen), тираничен (bg) (tiraničen)
• Dutch: arbitrair (nl), willekeurig (nl)
• Finnish: omavaltainen
• Georgian: დესპოტური (desṗoṭuri)
• German: willkürlich (de), eigenmächtig (de), Willkür-, tyrannisch (de), rücksichtslos (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: ansmachtúil, dírialta
• Norwegian: vilkårlig (no)
• Polish: arbitralny (pl), samowolny (pl), apodyktyczny (pl)
• Romanian: arbitrar (ro), despotic (ro)
• Turkish: re'sen

determined by impulse

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 任意 (zh) (rènyì), 随机决定

• Czech: náladový m
• Danish: vilkårlig
• Dutch: willekeurig (nl)
• Esperanto: hazarda
• Finnish: mielivaltainen (fi), umpimähkäinen (fi), omavaltainen
• French: arbitraire (fr)
• Georgian: თვითნებური (tvitneburi)
• German: willkürlich (de), arbiträr (de), eigenwillig (de), unbegründet (de), launenhaft, launisch (de)
• Greek: (adjective) αυθαίρετος (el) (afthaíretos), δεσποτικός (el) (despotikós), αυταρχικός (el) (aftarchikós), παρορμητικός (el) (parormitikós), αυθόρμητος (el) (afthórmitos); (noun) αυθαίρετος αριθμός, τυπογραφικό στοιχείο εκτός "οικογένειας", παράταιρο και ανομοιογενές στοιχείο
• Hebrew: שרירותי m (shriruty), שרירותית f (shrirutyt)
• Indonesian: sembarang (id), siapa saja (id), apa saja (id), mana saja
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: arbitrario (it)
• Japanese: 任意 (ja) (にんい, nin-i), 不特定多数 (ふとくていたすう, futokutei-tasū)
• Latin: arbitrārius
• Norwegian: vilkårlig (no)
• Portuguese: arbitrário (pt)
• Romanian: arbitrar (ro), impulsiv (ro)
• Russian: произво́льный (ru) (proizvólʹnyj)
• Spanish: arbitrario (es)
• Swedish: godtycklig (sv), arbiträr (sv)
• Tagalog: alitakdain
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: keyfî (tr), dürtüsel

chosen at random

• Bulgarian: произволен (bg) (proizvolen), случаен (bg) (slučaen)
• Czech: libovolný (cs) m
• Danish: arbitrær (da)
• Dutch: willekeurig (nl)
• Esperanto: arbitra (eo)
• Finnish: satunnainen (fi)
• French: arbitraire (fr)
• Georgian: ჭირვეული (č̣irveuli)
• German: beliebig (de), willkürlich (de), erratisch (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: treallach
• Italian: scelto a caso (it)
• Norwegian: tilfeldig (no)
• Portuguese: arbitrário (pt)
• Romanian: arbitrar (ro)
• Russian: произво́льный (ru) (proizvólʹnyj)
• Tagalog: alitakdain
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: gelişigüzel (tr), rastgele (tr), lalettayin (tr)

(mathematics)

• Bulgarian: произволен (bg) (proizvolen)
• Dutch: willekeurig (nl)
• Finnish: mielivaltainen (fi)
• French: quelconque (fr)
• German: beliebig (de), frei wählbar
• Hungarian: tetszőleges (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: vilkårlig (no), tilfeldig (no)
• Polish: dowolny (pl) m
• Russian: произвольный (ru) (proizvolʹnyj)
• Swedish: godtycklig (sv)
• Tagalog: alitakdain

Noun

arbitrary (plural arbitraries)

1. Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.

Further reading

• “arbitrary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “arbitrary”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• arbitrariness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia