Etymologically
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voluntary

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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

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