Randomise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To arrange or select items by chance so that the outcome has no predictable pattern or order
2. To make something haphazard by introducing an element of chance into its selection or arrangement
3. To shuffle or assign elements without any fixed pattern, so that results cannot be foreseen

Etymology: "Randomise" is a simple formation: the adjective "random" with the suffix "-ise", which turns it into a verb meaning to make something random or to order it by chance. The suffix has a long pedigree. It comes from Ancient Greek "-izein", passed through Late Latin "-izare" and Middle French "-iser" before reaching English, where it became the common verbal ending seen in words such as "organise" and "realise." The adjective "random" has a more surprising past. It derives from Old French "randir," meaning to gallop or run fast, and before that from a Frankish word related to the Old English "rinnan," meaning to run. A "random" was originally a headlong rush or a reckless charge, so the sense of aimless chance grew out of the idea of going at something without looking where you were heading. That underlying sense of running wildly survives in the word's history rather than its everyday meaning.

Synonyms: randomize, shuffle, scramble, jumble

Antonyms: order, arrange, sequence