Etymologically
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involuntary

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɪnˈvɒl.ən.tɹi/[1]
  • US: /ɪnˈvɑ.lənˌtɛɹ.i/, /ɪnˈvɒl.ənˌtɛɹ.i/[1]

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

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