random

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Happening or chosen without any plan, pattern, or reason.

   The winners were picked in a random draw.

2. 2
   adj

   Having an outcome that cannot be predicted, where each result is equally likely.

   Tossing a coin gives a random result each time.

3. 3
   noun

   An unknown or unimportant person.

   The party was full of randoms I'd never met before.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Random entered Middle English from Old French randon “great speed,” which came from a Germanic root. Its earliest English sense referred to an impetuous, headlong rush.

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.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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