Voluntary

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Voluntary \Vol"un*ta*ry\, 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}.]
     1. 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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     2. 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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     3. 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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     4. (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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     5. 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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     6. (Law) Free; without compulsion; according to the will,
        consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration;
        gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
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     7. (Eccl.) Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; 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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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Voluntary \Vol"un*ta*ry\, n.; pl. {Voluntaries}.
     1. One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a
        volunteer. [R.] --Shak.
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     2. (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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     3. (Eccl.) One who advocates voluntaryism.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  voluntary
       adj 1: of your own free will or design; not forced or compelled;
              "man is a voluntary agent"; "participation was
              voluntary"; "voluntary manslaughter"; "voluntary
              generosity in times of disaster"; "voluntary social
              workers"; "a voluntary confession" [ant: {involuntary}]
       2: controlled by individual volition; "voluntary motions";
          "voluntary muscles" [ant: {involuntary}]
       n 1: (military) a person who freely enlists for service [syn: {volunteer},
             {military volunteer}] [ant: {draftee}]
       2: composition (often improvised) for a solo instrument
          (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a
          service or performance

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  104 Moby Thesaurus words for "voluntary":
     Vorspiel, advised, aimed, aimed at, alternative, arbitrary,
     autonomous, avant-propos, breakthrough, calculated, chosen,
     conative, concert overture, conscious, considered, contemplated,
     curtain raiser, deliberate, deliberated, descant, designed,
     discretional, discretionary, disjunctive, dramatic overture,
     elected, elective, envisaged, envisioned, exordium, foreword, free,
     free will, front matter, frontispiece, gratuitous, independent,
     innovation, intended, intentional, introduction, knowing, leap,
     meant, meditated, nonmandatory, of design, offered,
     operatic overture, optional, overture, planned, postulate,
     preamble, preface, prefix, prefixture, preliminary, prelude,
     premeditated, premise, presupposition, proem, proffered, projected,
     prolegomena, prolegomenon, prolepsis, prologue, proposed, protasis,
     purposed, purposeful, purposive, self-acting, self-active,
     self-determined, self-determining, spontaneous, studied,
     teleological, unasked, unbesought, unbidden, uncalled-for,
     uncoerced, uncompelled, unconstrained, unforced, uninfluenced,
     uninvited, unpressured, unprompted, unrequested, unrequired,
     unsolicited, unsought, vamp, verse, volitional, volunteer, willful,
     willing, witting
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  VOLUNTARY. Willingly; done with one's consent; negligently. Wolff, Sec. 5. 
       2. To render an act criminal or tortious it must be voluntary. If a 
  man, therefore, kill another without a will on his part, while engaged in 
  the performance of a lawful act, and having taken proper care to prevent it, 
  he is not guilty of any crime. And if he commit an injury to the person or 
  property of another, he is not liable for damages, unless the act has been 
  voluntary or through negligence, as when a collision takes place between two 
  ships without any fault in either. 2 Dobs. R. 83 3 Hagg. Adm. R. 320, 414. 
       3. When the crime or injury happens in the performance of an unlawful 
  act, the party will be considered as having acted voluntarily. 
       4. A negligent escape permitted by an officer having the custody of a 
  prisoner will be presumed as voluntary; under a declaration or count 
  charging the escape to have been voluntary, the party will, therefore, be 
  allowed to give a negligent escape in evidence. 1 Saund. 35, n. 1. So Will.