involuntary

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin involuntārius (“involuntary, unwilling”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed from in- (“not”) and Latin voluntārius (“willing, of one's free will”),^[2][7][3][4] which comes from voluntās (“will”), from volō (“to wish, want”),^[8][3] from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to wish, will”).^[8][3] Barnhart allows for the influence of Middle French involontaire,^[9] and the OED compares the French word, recorded from the 14th century in Oresme.^[7] The Shorter Oxford treats it as an English formation, voluntary with a negative prefix.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Barnhart dates the word to about 1454,^[9] and Etymonline to the mid-15th century.^[2] The OED's first quotation is from Elyot's Boke Named the Gouernour (1531), for something done without the exercise of the will, not done by choice.^[7]

Semantic evolution

From 1598 the word was also used of people, meaning "unwilling", a use the Shorter Oxford records only until the mid-18th century.^[7][10] Johnson (1755) gave two senses, "not having the power of choice" and "not chosen, not done willingly", quoting Pope's "th' involuntary tear".^[11] The physiological sense, of bodily actions and processes outside the control of the will, as of the involuntary muscles, dates from 1840.^[7] Merriam-Webster also records a sense "imposed by authority or circumstance", as in involuntary servitude and involuntary unemployment.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1454 – not done willingly.^[9]
• 1531 – done without the exercise of the will; unintentional.^[7]
• 1598 – of a person, unwilling.^[7]
• 1840 – physiology, of bodily actions independent of the will.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Done without conscious choice or will; unintentional: an involuntary shudder.^[12][4][7]
2. (physiology) Of a movement, muscle or process: not under conscious control: Breathing is largely involuntary.^[12][4][7]
3. Imposed by authority or circumstances; compulsory: involuntary redundancy.^[4]
4. Of a bankruptcy: declared on the petition of creditors.^[4]

Word family

• involuntarily
• involuntariness
• involuntary manslaughter
• involuntary muscle

Related words

• volunteer
• voluntary
• volition
• will

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins