volunteervolunteer

Volunteer comes from Middle French voluntaire ‘voluntary’, from Latin voluntas ‘will’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-¹‘to choose’root named by Wiktionary
2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoluntas²‘will’
3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoluntārius¹‘willing, voluntary’
4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400voluntaire³
5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600voluntaire¹‘voluntary’
6. Englishearliest quotation 2007volunteer¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English volunteer
2. ² Wiktionary, Latin voluntarius
3. ³ Wiktionary, Middle French voluntaire
4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Edward M. Coffman, The Regulars: The American Army: “That summer and fall the Army organized twenty-five regiments…”.