Such terms are not arbitrarily assigned. The voltage drop across an inductor is directly proportional to the CHANGE in current. The voltage drop across a resistor is proportional to the CURRENT. This is reflected in the modeling equation which must be based on the physics of the system.
In a resistor the instant voltage is proportional to the instant current:[tex]v(t) = R i(t)[/tex] (Ohm's law).
In an inductor, the instant magnetic flux is proportional to the instant current: [tex]\phi(t) = L i(t)[/tex].
But by Faraday's law, the voltage in a circuit is the derivative of the flux: [tex]v(t) =\frac{d\phi}{dt}[/tex], so [tex]v(t) =L\frac{di}{dt}[/tex].