English → Latin
“voluntary” in Latin
voluntāriusvoluntary, willing, of one’s own accord or free will, self-imposedvolōto wish, to please; to want; to mean, to intendspontefreely, willingly, voluntarily, spontaneouslyulterthat is beyond
The English word voluntary itself goes back to Latin volō, through voluntārius.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
voluntary
voluntarius (ἐθελούσιος, ἐθελοντής, from one’s own choice): volens (of one’s own will; opposed to coactus): non coactus, non invitus (without compulsion or external incitement, ἑκών, ἑκούσιος). ☞ spontaneus (αὐτόματος) and ultroneus (αὐτοκέλευστος) differing as sponte and ultro, not identical with voluntarius, occur first in Sen., Ep., and Quint., 2, 59, 7, and were probably formed by Sen. for his philosophical style. Instead of them we usually find sponte and ultro with a participle suited to the context; e.g., a voluntary motion, motus sua sponte factus (for motus spontaneus in Sen.), etc.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for voluntary?
- The usual Latin words for “voluntary” are voluntārius, volō, sponte; also ulter. 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.