GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Voluntary , a. [L. voluntarius, fr. voluntas will, choice, from the root of velle to will, p. pr. volens; akin to E. will: cf. F. volontaire, Of. also voluntaire. See Will, v. t., and cf. Benevolent, Volition, Volunteer.]
   Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of choice.
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   That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy.
   N. W. Taylor.
   
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   Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous; acting of one's self, or of itself; free.
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   Our voluntary service he requires.
   Milton.
   
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   She fell to lust a voluntary prey.
   Pope.
   
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   Done by design or intention; intentional; purposed; intended; not accidental; as, if a man kills another by lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
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   (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to the will; subject to, or regulated by, the will; as, the voluntary motions of an animal, such as the movements of the leg or arm (in distinction from involuntary motions, such as the movements of the heart); the voluntary muscle fibers, which are the agents in voluntary motion.
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   Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary agent.
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   God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary, agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.
   Hooker.
   
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   (Law) Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
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   (Eccl.) Of or pertaining to voluntarism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church.
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   Voluntary affidavit or Voluntary oath (Law), an affidavit or oath made in an extrajudicial matter. -- Voluntary conveyance (Law), a conveyance without valuable consideration. -- Voluntary escape (Law), the escape of a prisoner by the express consent of the sheriff. -- Voluntary jurisdiction. (Eng. Eccl. Law) See Contentious jurisdiction, under Contentious. -- Voluntary waste. (Law) See Waste, n., 4.
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   Syn. -- See Spontaneous.
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2.       
   Voluntary, n.; pl. Voluntaries .
   One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer. [R.]
   Shak.
   
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   (Mus.) A piece played by a musician, often extemporarily, according to his fancy; specifically, an organ solo played before, during, or after divine service.
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   (Eccl.) One who advocates voluntarism.
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