English → Latin
“spontaneous” in Latin
spontefreely, willingly, voluntarily, spontaneouslyulterthat is beyondvoluntāswill, free will, choice; desire, inclination; disposition towards (something or someone)ipsehimself, herself, itself, the very, the actual; specific reference to the chief, the leader, the one, etc., used to dist
The English word spontaneous itself goes back to Latin sponte, through spontāneus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
spontaneous
Voluntary, Vid:
Of its own accord, by circumlocution by sponte: sua sponte (☞ not sponte sua, which is found only in poets and later prose writers; the pronouns are put first for emphasis; Vid: Herzog, ad Caes., B.G., 1, 9): ultro: voluntate: sua voluntate: ipse: (☞ Sen. introduced the use of spontaneus, ultroneus; these words can be adopted only as technical terms).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for spontaneous?
- The usual Latin words for “spontaneous” are sponte, ulter, voluntās; also ipse. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.