Arbitrary
means lacking any natural basis or substantial justification.
In the theory of
the sign elaborated by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, the
relationship between the signifier (the sound-image or written mark) and
its signified (or concept) is described as 'unmotivated' or arbitrary
because there is no natural or necessary bond between them, only the convention
of a given language.
The same applies to the relationship between the sign and
the object to which it refers. The arbitrariness of these relationships can be
shown by comparing the ways in which different languages allocate signifiers to
signifieds.