Etymology

volunteer

vol·un·teer
V4O1L1U1N1T1E1E1R1

Today it means: One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay. Full definition →

Middle French voluntaire ← Latin voluntārius
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromvoluntārius“willing, voluntary”
  2. Middle French · borrowed fromvoluntaire
  3. English todayvolunteer

Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer.

Words from the same roots

Latinvoluntārius all →

voluntary

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.