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
- A reliance on volunteers to support an...
Ancestry of “voluntarism”, step by step
voluntarism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French volontarisme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | volontarisme | voluntarism |
| 2 | French | volontaire | voluntary, deliberate; volunteer; determined |
| 3 | Middle French | voluntaire | willingly; voluntary; of one's own accord |
| 4 | Old French | voluntaire | — |
| 5 | Latin | voluntārius | volunteer |
| 6 | Latin | voluntās | will, free will, choice |
| 7 | Latin | velle | present active infinitive of volō; wish, intend;... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | welō | to want, will |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | welh₁- | to choose; to want |
via English voluntary
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | voluntary | Done, given, or acting of one's own free will;... |
| 2 | Middle English | voluntarie | — |
| 3 | Old French | volontaire | — |