random English · revision 4392

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1305|origins=frk *rant}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈræn.dəm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|randoun|t=impetuosity, speed, force]], randun,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|randon|t=rush, disorder, force, impetuosity]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from randir “to run fast, gallop”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Frankish *rant “a running” or another Germanic source,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) related to Old High German rennen “to cause to run” and Old English rinnan, the source of [[run]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The final n changed to m as in [[ransom]] and [[seldom]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Impetuosity, great speed or violence, as in riding or striking: about 1305 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The phrases o randon and at randon are from before 1300 and before 1376.^(Barnhart 1988) In hawking and tournaments ''at random'' had special senses in the 15th and 16th centuries.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) ''At random'' meant at great speed, without care or control, from 1565,^(Barnhart 1988) the 1560s in Etymonline, and so “carelessly, haphazardly”.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The adjective, made by chance with no plan, is from 1655 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the 1650s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) 1632 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.^(MWU 2024) ''Randomize'' is from 1926,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''random access'' in computer memory from 1953.^(Etymonline) In American college slang of the 1980s random came to mean “inferior, undesirable”, and a person who does not belong.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1305 – impetuosity.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1376 – ''at randon''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1565 – ''at random'', headlong.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1655 – adjective, by chance.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1926 – ''randomize''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1953 – ''random access''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1980s – slang, odd or unwelcome.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having no particular [[pattern]], purpose or order; [[haphazard]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(statistics)'' Having an equal chance of occurrence for every member of a group: ''a random sample''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' Strange or unexpected; also, of a person, unknown, a stranger.^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)^(GDoS)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''at random'': without method or conscious choice.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[randomly]]

+ * [[randomness]]

+ * [[random-access]]

+ * [[randomize]]

+ * [[random-access memory]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[run]]

+ * [[rant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}