volunteer

English

/vɑl.ənˈtɪɹ/, /vɒl.ənˈtɪə/

noun
Definitions
  • One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his/her own free will, especially when done without pay.
  • (military) One who enters into military service voluntarily, but who, when in service, is subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers; -- opposed to conscript; specifically, a voluntary member of the organized militia of a country as distinguished from the standing army.
  • (legal) A person who acts out of his own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
  • (botany) A plant that grows spontaneously, without being cultivated on purpose; see in Wikipedia.
  • A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire derived from Latin voluntārius (voluntary, volunteer, willing, of free will) suffix from English voluntary root from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (choose, wish, want, desire).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*welh₁-

Gloss

choose, wish, want, desire

Concept
Semantic Field

Emotions and values

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms