arbitrary

English

WOTD – 4 December 2006

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹə.ɹi/, (haplology) /ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹi/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹ.bɪˌtɹɛ(ə).ɹi/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Audio (General Australian):

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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; often connoting heavy-handedness.
   • 1937/1938, 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.

   • 1906, Gelett Burgess, Are You a Bromide?:

     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
• arbitrarity
• arbitrary-precision arithmetic
• arbitrary unit
• nonarbitrary
• unarbitrary

 

Related terms

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

 

Translations

based on individual discretion or judgment

• Arabic: اِعْتِبَاطِيّ (iʕtibāṭiyy)
• Asturian: arbitrariu
• Belarusian: адво́льны m (advólʹny)
• Bulgarian: произволен (bg) (proizvolen), своеволен (bg) (svoevolen)
• Catalan: arbitrari (ca)
• Czech: libovolný (cs) m
• Danish: vilkårlig, arbitrær (da)
• Dutch: willekeurig (nl), arbitrair (nl)
• Finnish: mielivaltainen (fi)
• French: arbitraire (fr)
• Galician: arbitrario (gl)
• Georgian: დაუსაბუთებელი (dausabutebeli)
• German: willkürlich (de), nach Ermessen, in freiem Ermessen, frei (de), Ermessens-, arbiträr (de)
• Greek: αυθαίρετος (el) (afthaíretos)
• Hindi: यादृच्छिक (hi) m (yādŕcchik)
• Hungarian: önkényes (hu)
• Icelandic: geðþóttalegur
• Ido: arbitriala (io)
• Irish: ar togradh, aondeonach
• Italian: arbitrario (it) m, arbitraria (it) f
• Japanese: 恣意的な (ja) (しいてきな, shiiteki-na)
• Latin: arbitrārius
• Macedonian: произволен (proizvolen)
• 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
• Thai: ดุลยพินิจ (dun-là-yá-pí-nít)
• Turkish: keyfî (tr), isteğe bağlı, ihtiyarî (tr)

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 (de), 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
• 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: ตามอำเภอใจ (th) (dtaam-am-pəə-jai)
• Turkish: keyfî (tr), dürtüsel

mathematics: any out of all possible

• Armenian: կամայական (hy) (kamayakan)
• Bulgarian: произволен (bg) (proizvolen)
• Dutch: willekeurig (nl)
• Finnish: mielivaltainen (fi), satunnainen (fi)
• French: quelconque (fr)
• German: beliebig (de), frei wählbar
• Hungarian: tetszőleges (hu)
• Norwegian: vilkårlig (no), tilfeldig (no)
• Polish: dowolny (pl) m
• Russian: произвольный (ru) (proizvolʹnyj)
• Swedish: godtycklig (sv)
• Tagalog: alitakdain

determined by arbiter

• Finnish: välitys-

linguistics: not representative or symbolic

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

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} деспотичен (bg) (despotičen), ^{(please verify)} тираничен (bg) (tiraničen)
• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} произволен (bg) (proizvolen), ^{(please verify)} случаен (bg) (slučaen)
• Czech: ^{(please verify)} libovolný (cs) m
• Danish: ^{(please verify)} arbitrær (da)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} willekeurig (nl)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} arbitrair (nl), ^{(please verify)} willekeurig (nl)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} arbitra (eo)
• French: ^{(please verify)} arbitraire (fr)
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} ჭირვეული (č̣irveuli)
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} დესპოტური (desṗoṭuri)
• German: ^{(please verify)} beliebig (de), ^{(please verify)} willkürlich (de), ^{(please verify)} erratisch (de)
• German: ^{(please verify)} willkürlich (de), ^{(please verify)} eigenmächtig (de), ^{(please verify)} Willkür-, ^{(please verify)} rücksichtslos (de)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} ansmachtúil, ^{(please verify)} dírialta
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} treallach
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} scelto a caso (it)
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} vilkårlig (no)
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} tilfeldig (no)
• Portuguese: ^{(please verify)} arbitrário (pt)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} arbitrar (ro), ^{(please verify)} despotic (ro)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} arbitrar (ro)
• Russian: ^{(please verify)} произво́льный (ru) (proizvólʹnyj)
• Tagalog: ^{(please verify)} alitakdain
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} สุ่ม (th) (sùm)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} gelişigüzel (tr), ^{(please verify)} rastgele (tr), lalettayin (tr)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} re'sen

Noun

arbitrary (plural arbitraries)

1. Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.
   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:

     And in this long chain of consistence, a chain stretching from the long dead to the far unborn, the notion of the arbitrary could only survive as the notion of a pre-established arbitrary.

Derived terms

• cultural arbitrary

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