Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “arbitrary” come from?

Arbitrary comes from Latin arbitrarius, derived from arbiter, meaning one who has the power to decide or judge.

arbitrary (English): Based on individual discretion or judgment; not...

Definitions

  1. Based on individual discretion or judgment; not...

Ancestry of “arbitrary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frencharbitrairearbitrary
2Italianarbitrarioarbitrary
3Latinarbitrariusarbitrating; arbitrary
4Latin-ārius—
5Proto-Italic*-āzios—

Words derived from “arbitrary”

  • arbitrarily
  • arbitrariness
  • nonarbitrary
  • arbit
  • nonarbitrariness
  • arbitra
Every word from Proto-Italic *-āzios →