Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “volontaire” come from?

volontaire (Old French) comes from Latin voluntārius, from Latin voluntās, from Latin velle, from Proto-Italic welō, from Proto-Indo-European welh₁- — to choose; to want.

Ancestry of “volontaire”, step by step

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

Words derived from “volontaire”

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