Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “voluntary” come from?

Voluntary comes from Middle English voluntarie, from Old French volontaire, from Latin voluntarius, derived from Latin velle meaning "to wish," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH-.

voluntary (English): Done, given, or acting of one's own free will;...

Definitions

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

Ancestry of “voluntary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishvoluntarie—
2Old Frenchvolontaire—
3Latinvoluntārius—
4Latinvoluntās—
5Latinvellepresent active infinitive of volō; wish, intend;...
6Proto-Italicwelōto want, will
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwelh₁-to choose; to want

Words derived from “voluntary”

  • voluntarily
  • involuntary
  • involuntarily
  • voluntarism
  • voluntariness
  • voluntarist
  • voluntaristic
  • involuntariness
  • voluntaryist
  • semivoluntary
  • unvoluntary
  • nonvoluntarily
  • unvoluntarily
  • voluntaryistic
  • voluntar
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welh₁- →