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arbitrary

adj
/ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹə.ɹi/UK/ˈɑɹ.bɪˌtɹɛ(ə).ɹi/CA

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin arbiter Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āsjos Latin -ārius Latin arbitrāriusder. Middle English arbitrarie English arbitrary From Middle English arbitrarie, Latin arbitrārius (“arbitrary, uncertain”), from arbiter (“witness, on-looker, listener, judge, overseer”).

  1. derived from arbitrārius — “arbitrary, uncertain”
  2. inherited from arbitrarie

Definitions

  1. Based on individual discretion or judgment

    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

    Determined by impulse rather than reason; often connoting heavy-handedness.

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

  3. Any, out of all that are possible.

    • The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. Determined by independent arbiter.

    2. Not representative or symbolic

      Not representative or symbolic; not iconic.

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

      • 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.

The neighborhood

Derived

arbitrarily, arbitrariness, arbitrarity, arbitrary-precision arithmetic, arbitrary unit, nonarbitrary, unarbitrary

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at arbitrary. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01arbitrary02random03bullet04manufactured05manmade06man-made07artificial08arbitrarily

A definitional loop anchored at arbitrary. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at arbitrary

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA