Etymologically
Log in

volonté

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 10:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vɔ.lɔ̃.te/[1]

Forms

volonté f (plural volontés)[1] Old French voluntez (about 980), volenté (from about 1130, the usual form until the 16th century); volonté from about 1360 (Froissart), general from Nicot (1606).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It continues Latin voluntātem (“will, wish; goodwill; last will”),[5][3][6][7][1] from volō (“I want”) (see vouloir).[3][8] The usual Old French form was volenté; the modern form is a remaking after the Latin word.[6][8] Rey treats the word as a borrowing.[2]

Compare Italian volontà, Old Occitan voluntat, Spanish voluntad and Portuguese vontade.[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has the plural for passions and desires: Fraindre devem noz voluntez “we must break our wills”.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From faire sa volonté “to follow one's whims” (Wace, 1160–74) come faire ses volontés and, much later, faire les quatre volontés de quelqu'un (1904).[5][2] The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has bone volentet “readiness to do good”, bonne volonté is recorded in 1380 and mauvaise volonté in 1651.[5][2] The divine will appears in the same text, and Maurice de Sully's sermons (about 1190) translate the Lord's Prayer as soit faite la toie volentés.[5] À volonté “at will” dates from about 1290, darraine volunté “last will” from 1275 and dernières volontés from 1701.[2][5]

As a faculty of the mind, the word is used by Montaigne (1580: resoluë volonté) and Pascal, who sets l'entendement et la volonté side by side (1657–58); Montaigne also speaks of la volonté du peuple Romain (1588), and Ribot's Maladies de la volonté (1893) is a work of psychology.[5]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Voluntez “desires”, Passion of Clermont.[5]
  • c. 1050 – Bone volentet, Vie de saint Alexis.[5]
  • 1160–74 – Faire ses voluntez, Wace.[5]
  • 1275 – Darraine volunté “last will”.[5]
  • c. 1290 – À volonté.[2]
  • c. 1360 – The form volonté, Froissart.[4]
  • 1580 – Moral energy, Montaigne.[5]
  • 1701 – Dernières volontés.[5]
  • 1904 – Faire les quatre volontés de quelqu'un.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. will, what someone wants: contre sa volonté, que ta volonté soit faite.[9][1]
  2. The faculty of willing; willpower, determination: avoir de la volonté.[5][9]
  3. Bonne volonté, mauvaise volonté: goodwill, readiness or unwillingness to act.[2][9]
  4. Dernières volontés: a person's last wishes.[2][5]
  5. À volonté: at will, as much as one likes, feu à volonté !, fire at will![2]
  6. (familiar) Faire les quatre volontés de quelqu'un: to give in to all someone's whims.[9][2]

Word family

  • volontaire
  • volontiers

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 615a
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert