voluntary

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈvɒl.ən.tər.i/, /ˈvɒl.ən.tri/, US /ˈvɑː.lən.ter.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is, partly through Anglo-Norman voluntarie (Old French volontaire), borrowed from Latin voluntārius (“of one's free will”),^[2][3][4] from voluntās, will,^[3][4] which is formed from the present participle of velle, to wish (see will).^[3][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of feelings, arising in the mind without outside pressure: about 1385, in Usk's Testament of Love,^[3][5] late 14th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Of actions, done of one's own free will, is from about 1449,^[5] and of bodily movements controlled by the will (voluntary muscles) from about 1400.^[5] The noun, an organ piece played before or after a service, is from the 1590s in Etymonline, perhaps so called because it was not prescribed by the rubrics,^[2] the 18th century in Hoad.^[4] Voluntary work and voluntary organizations, run by volunteers, belong to modern use.^[6] Volunteer is a doublet from the late 16th century, first a military word.^[3][7]

Timeline

• c. 1385 – arising from the will.^[3][5]
• c. 1400 – of bodily movement, voluntary.^[5]
• c. 1449 – done of one's free will.^[5]
• 1590s – an organ voluntary.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Done or given by free choice, without being forced or asked: a voluntary donation.
2. Acting or serving willingly and without pay.
3. Run or supported by volunteers: a voluntary organization.
4. Of muscles or movements, controlled by the will.

Noun

1. A piece for solo organ, often improvised, played before, during or after a church service.

Word family

• voluntarily
• voluntariness
• nonvoluntary
• semivoluntary
• unvoluntary
• voluntary muscle

Related words

• voluntarism
• will
• volition
• volunteer
• benevolent

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press