aleatory

[ ey-lee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, al-ee- ]
See synonyms for aleatory on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. Law. depending on a contingent event: an aleatory contract.

  2. of or relating to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable: an aleatory element.

  1. Music. employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.

Origin of aleatory

1
1685–95; <Latin āleātōrius, equivalent to āleātōr- (stem of āleātor gambler (āle(a) game of chance + -ātor-ator) + -ius adj. suffix; see -tory1
  • Also a·le·a·tor·ic [ey-lee-uh-tawr-ik, -tor-, al-ee-]. /ˌeɪ li əˈtɔr ɪk, -ˈtɒr-, ˌæl i-/.

Words Nearby aleatory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use aleatory in a sentence

  • This was the aleatory element in life, the element of risk and loss, good or bad fortune.

    Folkways | William Graham Sumner
  • The aleatory element has always been the connecting link between the struggle for existence and religion.

    Folkways | William Graham Sumner
  • It was only by religious rites that the aleatory element in the struggle for existence could be controlled.

    Folkways | William Graham Sumner
  • The folkways, deeply concerned in the aleatory interest, work out the applications.

    Folkways | William Graham Sumner
  • There is behind them an assumption as to the character and logic of the superior powers who rule the aleatory interest.

    Folkways | William Graham Sumner

British Dictionary definitions for aleatory

aleatory

aleatoric (ˌeɪlɪəˈtɒrɪk)

/ (ˈeɪlɪətərɪ, -trɪ) /


adjective
  1. dependent on chance

  2. (esp of a musical composition) involving elements chosen at random by the performer

Origin of aleatory

1
C17: from Latin āleātōrius, from āleātor gambler, from ālea game of chance, dice, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012