Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “voluntarism” come from?

Voluntarism derives from English voluntary, which comes from Ancient Greek -ισμός and -μός suffixes applied to Latin voluntarius, ultimately from Latin velle and volo meaning "to wish," tracing to Proto-Indo-European gʷelH-.

voluntarism (English): A reliance on volunteers to support an...

Definitions

  1. A reliance on volunteers to support an...

Ancestry of “voluntarism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchvolontarismevoluntarism
2Frenchvolontairevoluntary, deliberate; volunteer; determined
3Middle Frenchvoluntairewillingly; voluntary; of one's own accord
4Old Frenchvoluntaire—
5Latinvoluntārius—
6Latinvoluntās—
7Latinvellepresent active infinitive of volō; wish, intend;...
8Proto-Italicwelōto want, will
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwelh₁-to choose; to want
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welh₁- →