Etymograph

English

voluntary

Voluntary comes from Latin voluntārius ‘willing, of free will’, from volēns ‘wishing, desiring’, and ultimately from volo ‘to will’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolo1‘to will’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolēns1‘wishing, desiring’present participle of volo
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoluntās1‘will, choice, desire’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoluntārius1‘willing, of free will’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400volontaire1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500voluntarie1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1590voluntary1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English voluntary
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto IV: “And all that els was pretious and deare, /…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoloWiktionary, English voluntary‘to will’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolēnsWiktionary, English voluntary‘wishing, desiring’present participle of volo
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoluntāsWiktionary, English voluntary‘will, choice, desire’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoluntāriusWiktionary, English voluntary‘willing, of free will’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400volontaireWiktionary, English voluntary
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500voluntarieWiktionary, English voluntary
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1590voluntaryWiktionary, English voluntary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto IV: “And all that els was pretious and deare, /…”

Linked words

through Latin volo ‘to will’

volatile, volition, 10 more

through Latin volēns ‘wishing, desiring’

malevolence, 1 more

Today it means

adj Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “voluntary”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin volo / voluntary

Shirt and support for this word