volontaire

Forms

volontaire (plural volontaires)^[1] Old French voluntaire; the spelling with ⟨o⟩ followed volonté in the 14th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin voluntārius (“acting freely, done willingly”), which as a plural noun meant volunteer soldiers.^[4][2][3] The Latin adjective is formed from voluntās (“will”),^[2][1] itself from volō (“to wish, want”).^[1] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has a record from 1214.^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan voluntari, Spanish voluntario and Italian volontario.^[6] Old French also had volenteis.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found, as voluntaire, in the statutes of a hôtel-Dieu written in 1265–1270, in obedience voluntaire, the freely chosen obedience of a nun.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first described what is not forced.^[2] Of a person it meant self-willed or capricious from about 1360,^[2] a use that was also a noun in the 17th century and has died out.^[2] From about 1370 Oresme used it of what results from an act of will rather than from reflex,^[4][2] hence muscles volontaires (1872).^[4]

The noun took military senses: in 1606 Nicot used it of the Roman volunteer soldiers, and before 1646 it meant a soldier who offers himself for a dangerous mission.^[4][2] The volontaires of 1792 served the Revolution;^[7] since 1923 the noun has meant any unpaid volunteer.^[4] The sense “strong-willed, determined”, of a person, dates from 1587, and a mâchoire volontaire showing such a character from 1924.^[4]

Timeline

• 1265–1270 – Obedience voluntaire appears in statutes of a hôtel-Dieu.^[4][2]
• c. 1370 – Oresme uses it of what results from the will.^[4][2]
• 1459 – It is used of a self-willed person.^[4]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne's dictionary has the spelling volontaire.^[8][7]
• 1587 – La Noue uses it of soldiers who offer their service, and of a determined person.^[4]
• 1606 – Nicot uses the noun for Roman volunteer soldiers.^[4][2]
• 1872 – Littré records muscles volontaires.^[4]
• 1923 – Radiguet uses the noun of volunteer firemen.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Voluntary, deliberate, resulting from an act of will: un geste volontaire;^[7][6] muscle volontaire.^[7][6]
2. Not forced, freely given: un don volontaire.^[7]
3. Strong-willed, determined; of a face or chin, showing determination.^[7][4]
4. (pejorative) Wilful, headstrong.^[7][1]
5. Acting freely, of one's own accord: être volontaire pour une mission.^[7] Engagé volontaire: a soldier who enlists without being conscripted.^[7][3]

Noun

1. A volunteer soldier, or a person who offers to undertake a dangerous mission.^[7][4]
2. A volunteer, a person who offers unpaid service.^[7][4]

Word family

• volontairement
• volontariat
• involontaire

Related words

• volontiers
• volonté
• vouloir
• Latin voluntārius

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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
5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert