Rnd

=Etymology of the Word "Random"=

"having no definite aim or purpose," 1650s, from at random (1560s), "at great speed" (thus, "carelessly, haphazardly"), alteration of M.E. randon "impetuosity, speed" (c.1300), from O.Fr. randon "rush, disorder, force, impetuosity," from randir "to run fast," from Frankish *rant "a running," from P.Gmc. *randa (cf. O.H.G. rennen "to run," O.E. rinnan "to flow, to run"). In 1980s college student slang, it began to acquire a sense of "inferior, undesirable." Random access in ref. to computer memory is recorded from 1953.

(reference: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=random)

The latest buzzword used amongst mindless teenagers as a way of showing just so utterly irreverent their predictable sense of humour is. Particularly dominant among English teens and University students, the word "random" or the act of being "random" is a desperate plea for others to recognise how totally against the grain of the norm you are and that you're really crazy and out there. Trouble is, being "random" is predictable, boring, moronic and extremely sad indeed. (reference: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=random)

To most of the rest of us something that is random has no predictable pattern. But 700 years ago when this word came to English from French it meant “to rush headlong” so that the lack of predictability was more a sense of being out of control due to speed.

The French were thought to have gotten the word from a Germanic word.

In French the word was randon with an N not an M and has since developed into randonnee which means a long outing or a hike. So in French there isn’t the sense so much of unpredictability, but wandering is still retained. (reference: Charles Hodgson, http://podictionary.com/?p=32)