Etymograph

English

random

Random comes from Middle English randoun ‘force, haste’, from Old French randon ‘rapidity’, from randir ‘to run’, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną ‘to run’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rinnaną1‘to run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*randijō1reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*randiju2‘a run, race’uncertain
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400randir1‘to run, gallop’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400randon1‘rapidity’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500randoun1‘force, haste’
  7. English1500–presentrandon1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485random1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English random
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French randir
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “they were messagers vnto kyng Ban & Bors sent…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rinnanąWiktionary, English random‘to run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*randijōWiktionary, English randomreconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*randijuWiktionary, Old French randir‘a run, race’uncertain
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400randirWiktionary, English random‘to run, gallop’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400randonWiktionary, English random‘rapidity’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500randounWiktionary, English random‘force, haste’
  7. English1500–presentrandonWiktionary, English random
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485randomWiktionary, English random. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “they were messagers vnto kyng Ban & Bors sent…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with random, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-West Germanic *rinnan ‘to run’

  • ern ← ernen ← irnan ← rinnan

1 more relative in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “random”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French randir. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *rinnaną / random