voluntary

English

Etymology

From Middle English *voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, of free will”), from voluntās (“will, choice, desire”), from volēns, present participle of volo (“to will”). Displaced native Old English selfwille (literally “self-willed”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvɒl.ən.tɹi/
• (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/

  • Audio (Southern California):

    (file)

• (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA^(key): /ˈvɒl.ən.t(ɛ)ɹi/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈvɔl.ən.tɹi/
• IPA^(key): (Ghana) [voˈlɔn.t̠ɹ̠̊ɹ̩.ri], /ˌvo.lɔnˈtɛ.ri/
• Hyphenation: vol‧un‧ta‧ry

Adjective

voluntary (comparative more voluntary, superlative most voluntary)

1. Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.
   • September 10, 1828, Nathaniel William Taylor, Sermon delivered in the Chapel of Yale College

     That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.

   • 1726, Alexander, transl. Pope, “Book III”, in The Odyssey, translation of original by Homer, line 345; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902, page 540:

     She fell, to lust a voluntary prey.

2. Done by design or intention; intentional.

   If a man accidentally kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.

3. Working or done without payment.

   Wikimedia is a voluntary service.

4. Endowed with the power of willing.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, “Book 1”, in Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie‎, London: John Walthoe et al, published 1782, page 5:

     […] God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary agent, intending before-hand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.

5. Of or relating to voluntarism.

   a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church

Synonyms

• (acting of one's own free will): discretionary, optional, volitional; See also Thesaurus:optional
• (done by design or intention): intentional, willful, see Thesaurus:intentional
• (done without payment): honorary, pro bono, unpaid, unsalaried, unwaged
• (endowed with the power of willing): autonomous, spontaneous

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “all”): involuntary
• (antonym(s) of “acting of one's own free will”): compulsory, obligatory; See also Thesaurus:compulsory
• (antonym(s) of “done by design or intention”): accidental
• (antonym(s) of “done without payment”): paid, salaried

Derived terms

• individual voluntary arrangement
• voluntarily
• voluntary agent
• voluntary aided school
• voluntary controlled school
• voluntary jurisdiction
• voluntary manslaughter
• voluntary movement
• voluntary muscle
• voluntary waste
• voluntary work

Related terms

• voluntarism
• voluntarist

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁- (0 c, 16 e)

Translations

done, given, or acting of one's own free will

Armenian: կամավոր (hy) (kamavor) Azerbaijani: könüllü (az) Bengali: নফল (bn) (nôfôl) Bulgarian: доброво́лен (bg) (dobrovólen) Catalan: voluntari (ca) Czech: dobrovolný (cs) Dutch: vrijwillig (nl) Esperanto: volonta Finnish: omaehtoinen, vapaaehtoinen (fi), halukas (fi) French: volontaire (fr) Galician: voluntario (gl) Georgian: ნებაყოფლობითი (nebaq̇oplobiti) German: freiwillig (de) Gothic: 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (silbawiljis) Greek: εκούσιος (el) (ekoúsios), εθελοντικός (el) (ethelontikós), προαιρετικός (el) (proairetikós), εθελούσιος (el) (etheloúsios) Ancient: ἑκούσιος (hekoúsios) Hindi: स्वेच्छा (hi) (svecchā) Hungarian: önkéntes (hu) Icelandic: frjáls (is) Ido: volunta, voluntala (io), voluntanta Indonesian: swakarsa (id), volunter (id), sukarela (id), rela hati Interlingua: voluntari Italian: spontaneo (it), volontario (it), di propria iniziativa Japanese: 志願して (shigan-shite) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: xwewîst (ku) Latin: voluntarius Latvian: brīvprātīgs Malayalam: സ്വമേധയാ (ml) (svamēdhayā) Norman: volontaithe Old English: selfwille Polish: dobrowolny (pl) Portuguese: voluntário (pt) Romanian: voit (ro) Russian: доброво́льный (ru) (dobrovólʹnyj) Scottish Gaelic: saor-thoileach Slovene: prostovoljen Spanish: voluntario (es) Swedish: frivillig (sv) Tagalog: pakusa Telugu: స్వచ్ఛంద (te) (svacchanda) Ukrainian: доброві́льний (dobrovílʹnyj)

done by design or intention; intentional

Bulgarian: умишлен (bg) (umišlen) Finnish: tahallinen (fi), suunniteltu (fi) Georgian: განზრახული (ganzraxuli), თვითნებური (tvitneburi), შეგნებული (šegnebuli) Hindi: स्वैच्छिक (svaicchik) Hungarian: szándékos (hu), akaratlagos (hu) Italian: intenzionale (it), deliberato (it), voluto (it) Latin: ultrōneus Polish: zamierzony (pl), celowy (pl), umyślny (pl) Portuguese: voluntário (pt) Slovene: nameren

working or done without payment

Bulgarian: безплатен (bg) (bezplaten) Czech: dobrovolný (cs) Finnish: vapaaehtoinen (fi), vapaaehtois- (in compounds), talkoo- French: bénévole (fr) Georgian: მოხალისეობრივი (moxaliseobrivi) German: ohne Bezahlung (without payment), ehrenamtlich (de) (honorary) Greek: εθελοντικός (el) (ethelontikós) Hungarian: önkéntes (hu), fizetés nélküli, fizetetlen (hu) Italian: volontario (it), gratuito (it) Polish: ochotniczy (pl) Portuguese: voluntário (pt) Romanian: voluntar (ro), benevol (ro) Scottish Gaelic: saor-thoileach Slovene: prostovoljen, prostovoljski

endowed with the power of will

Finnish: tahdollinen Polish: świadomy (pl)

of or relating to voluntaryism

Finnish: vapaaehtois- (fi), vapaa- (fi) Italian: volenteroso (it) Polish: woluntarystyczny Portuguese: voluntário (pt)

Adverb

voluntary (comparative more voluntary, superlative most voluntary)

1. (obsolete) Voluntarily.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     And all that els was pretious and deare, / The sea unto him voluntary brings [...].

Noun

voluntary (plural voluntaries)

1. (music) A short piece of music, often having improvisation, played on a solo instrument.
2. A volunteer.
3. A supporter of voluntarism; a voluntarist.