random

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From earlier randon, from Middle English randoun, raundon, from Old French randon, from randir (“to run, gallop”) (whence French randonnée (“long walk, hike”)), from Frankish *randiju (“a run, race”) or Old Norse rend (“a run, race”), both from Proto-Germanic *randijō, from *rinnaną (“run”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)r̥-nw- (“to flow, move, run”). Cognate with Middle Low German uprinden (“to jump up”), Danish rende (“to run”). See run.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: răn'dəm, IPA(key): /ˈɹændəm/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ændəm

Noun[edit]

random (countable and uncountable, plural randoms)

  1. A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.
  2. (obsolete) Speed, full speed; impetuosity, force. [14th–17th c.]
    Synonyms: force, momentum, speed, velocity
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book I:
      they were messagers vnto kyng Ban & Bors sent from kynge Arthur / therfor said the viij knyghtes ye shalle dye or be prysoners / for we ben knyghtes of kyng Claudas And therwith two of them dressid theire sperys / and Vlfyus and Brastias dressid theire speres and ranne to gyder with grete raundon
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1548, Edward Hall, “The triumphant reigne of Kyng Henry the VIII”, in The Union of the two noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke (Hall’s Chronicle), page 82v:
      […] for coragiouſly the two kynges newely foughte with great randon and force, they ſhewed their vigors and ſtrengthes and did ſo nobly that their coũter parties had none aduaũtage.
  3. (obsolete) The full range of a bullet or other projectile; hence, the angle at which a weapon is tilted to allow the greatest range. [16th–19th c.]
    • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 144:
      Fortie yards will they shoot levell, or very neare the marke, and 120 is their best at Random.
    • 1644, Sir Kenelm Digby, Two Treatises, page 125:
      […] the angle at which the miſſive is to mount by ( if we will have it go to its furtheſt randome ) muſt be the half of a right one […]
  4. (figurative, colloquial) An undefined, unknown or unimportant person; a person of no consequence. [from 20th c.]
    Synonyms: rando, nobody, nonentity
    The party was boring. It was full of randoms.
  5. (mining) The direction of a rake-vein.
  6. (printing, historical) A frame for composing type.
    • 1935, Newspaper World, numbers 1930-1955, page 41:
      Utilization of all floor space underneath case racks and randoms is another feature of the modern composing room; […]
    • 2002, Republic of Korea, number 2, page 502:
      Printers' frames and randoms

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

random (comparative more random, superlative most random)

  1. Having unpredictable outcomes and, in the ideal case, all outcomes equally probable; resulting from such selection; lacking statistical correlation.
    Synonyms: aleatory, stochastic
    The flip of a fair coin is purely random.
    The newspaper conducted a random sample of five hundred American teenagers.
    The results of the field survey look random by several different measures.
    • July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Rises[1]
      Where the Joker preys on our fears of random, irrational acts of terror, Bane has an all-consuming, dictatorial agenda that’s more stable and permanent, a New World Order that’s been planned out with the precision of a military coup.
  2. (mathematics) Of or relating to probability distribution.
    Synonym: stochastic
    A toss of loaded dice is still random, though biased.
  3. (computing) Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.
    Synonym: pseudorandom
    The rand function generates a random number from a seed.
  5. (somewhat colloquial) Representative and undistinguished; typical and average; selected for no particular reason.
    Synonyms: average, typical
    A random American off the street couldn't tell the difference.
  7. (somewhat colloquial) Apropos of nothing; lacking context; unexpected; having apparent lack of plan, cause, or reason.
    Synonyms: arbitrary, unexpected, unplanned
    That was a completely random comment.
    The teacher's bartending story was interesting, but random.
    The narrative takes a random course.
  9. (colloquial) Characterized by or often saying random things; habitually using non sequiturs.
    You're so random!
  10. (UK, slang) Being out of the ordinary; unusual or unexpected; odd, strange, bizarre.
    That's a rather random fact!
    I can't believe he would say that. That's so random!

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from random (adjective)

Descendants[edit]

  • → German: random
  • → Hungarian: random

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English random.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

random (indeclinable) (colloquial, chiefly youth slang)

  1. random (selected for no particular reason)
    Synonym: beliebig
    • 2022 November 28, Carolina Schwarz, “Social-Media-App BeReal: Solange es noch schön ist”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎[2], →ISSN:
      Das Prinzip ist simpel: Einmal am Tag zu einer random Uhrzeit erscheint bei allen Nut­ze­r*in­nen eine Pushnachricht, dazu startet ein Zweiminutencountdown.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 2023 January 29, Michael Brake, “Auf der Grünen Woche in Berlin: Im Sog der Häppchen”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎[3], →ISSN:
      Manche Länder haben dabei einen zentralen Auftritt, andere ein Sammelsurium aus vielen Einzelanbietern; es sind aber ohnehin nicht alle Länder da, nicht einmal alle Bundesländer. Es ist letztlich ziemlich random, beliebig, was hier geboten wird.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. random (apropos of nothing, lacking context)
  3. random (often saying random things)

Further reading[edit]

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English random.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈrɒndom]
  • Hyphenation: ran‧dom
  • Rhymes: -om

Adjective[edit]

random (comparative randomabb, superlative legrandomabb)

  1. random
    Synonyms: véletlen, véletlenszerű
  2. (informal) undistinguished, average, arbitrary, whichever, any
    Synonyms: tetszőleges, akármelyik, akármilyen, bármelyik, bármilyen

Declension[edit]

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative random randomok
accusative randomot randomokat
dative randomnak randomoknak
instrumental randommal randomokkal
causal-final randomért randomokért
translative randommá randomokká
terminative randomig randomokig
essive-formal randomként randomokként
essive-modal — —
inessive randomban randomokban
superessive randomon randomokon
adessive randomnál randomoknál
illative randomba randomokba
sublative randomra randomokra
allative randomhoz randomokhoz
elative randomból randomokból
delative randomról randomokról
ablative randomtól randomoktól
non-attributive
possessive - singular 		randomé randomoké
non-attributive
possessive - plural 		randoméi randomokéi

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN
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