Both Uses of
arbitrary
in
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
- It's all more or less arbitrary, of course, just like language itself.†
Chpt Intr. *arbitrary = based on chance or impulse
- Take the word "arbitrary" as an example: it doesn't mean anything inherently; rather, at some point in our past we agreed that it would mean what it does, and it does so only in English (those sounds would be so much gibberish in Japanese or Finnish).†
Chpt Intr.
Definition:
based on chance or impulse (rather than upon reasoning, consistent rules, or a proper sense of fairness)