voluntary

voluntary, a., adv., and n.
  (ˈvɒləntərɪ)
  Also 5–7 voluntarye, -arie, 8 -erie; 7 volontarie.
  [ad. OF. voluntaire (14th c.), volontaire (16th c.; mod.F. volontaire = It. volontario, It., Sp., Pg. voluntario), or ad. L. voluntārius, f. voluntas volunty.]
  A. adj. I. 1. a. Of feelings, etc.: Arising or developing in the mind without external constraint; having a purely spontaneous origin or character.

1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. vi. (Skeat) l. 146 Moche comune meyny, that have no consideracion but only to voluntary lustes withouten reson. a 1450 Mankind 187 in Macro Plays 8 Yf we wyll mortyfye owur carnall condycyon, Ande owur voluntarye dysyres. 1595 Shakes. John v. ii. 10 Albeit we sweare A voluntary zeale, and an vn-urg'd Faith. 1633 R. Hall in Bp. Hall's Occas. Medit. Ded., The expressions of these voluntary and sudden thoughts of his. 1644 Milton Educ. Wks. 1851 IV. 380 That voluntary Idea, which hath long in silence presented it self to me. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Liberty, Tho' all natural Inclinations be voluntary, yet they are not all free. 1822 J. MacDonald Mem. J. Benson 167 It requires much voluntary faith to be an infidel. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 74 Unfaithfulness is the voluntary love, as ignorance is the involuntary reception, of a lie. 1884 Ruskin Pleas. Learn. 78 Were faith not voluntary, it could not be praised.

  b. Of actions: Performed or done of one's own free will, impulse, or choice; not constrained, prompted, or suggested by another.
  Sometimes denoting ‘left to choice’, ‘not required or demanded of one’.

c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. iv. 18 Before that..eny voluntarie or wilful assignement of God was ȝouen to the Iewis. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1811) 548 The archebysshop..shewyd vnto them seryously the voluntary renounsynge of the kyng. 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1206/2 Restitucion is..a thing of such necessitie, that in respect of restitucion, almes dede is but voluntary. 1551 T. Wilson Logike D v b, That is called voluntarie, which doth betoken any thing done freely. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. i. 16 The lottrie of my destenie Bars me the right of voluntarie choosing. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 7 Thy voluntary wandring, and vnconstrayned exyle. 1673 Dryden Amboyna Ded., This voluntary Neglect of Honours has been of rare Example in the World. 1736 Butler Anal. i. v. Wks. 1874 I. 84 All wickedness is voluntary, as is implied in its very notion. 1780 Bentham Princ. Legisl. viii. (1789) 79 note, By a voluntary act is meant sometimes, any act, in the performance of which the will has had any concern at all; in this sense it is synonymous to intentional. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 333 The horse..throwing high his heels, Starts to the voluntary race again. 1849 Robertson Serm. Ser. iv. ix. (1876) 82 There must be some voluntary act transgressing some known law or there is no sin. a 1871 Grote Eth. Fragm. v. (1876) 187 Every action is voluntary, wherein the beginning of organic motion is the will of the agent.

  (b) Voluntary Service Overseas, an organization promoting voluntary work by young people (in education, social welfare, etc.) in developing countries; the service so offered or the scheme itself.

1960 Voluntary Service Overseas 1 Voluntary Service Overseas enables as many as possible of these young people to have this opportunity—and, in meeting the needs of others, to deepen their own experience. Ibid., Governments and agencies overseas are asking for volunteers to serve as temporary auxiliaries in many fields—social welfare, schools, youth clubs... It is in response to these requests that Voluntary Service Overseas is sending selected volunteers. 1964 M. Dickson World Elsewhere 11 In September 1958 ten young men left Britain for Sarawak. Three flew to Nigeria and two set off for Ghana. All were eighteen years old... They were the spearhead of the scheme which was Voluntary Service Overseas. 1965 Listener 7 Jan. 21/2 One finds British young people doing voluntary service overseas in all sorts of out-of-the-way places.

  c. Of oaths, etc.: Proceeding from the free, unprompted, or unconstrained will of a person; voluntarily made or given; spec. in Law (cf. next).

1595 Shakes. John iii. iii. 23 Thy voluntary oath Liues in this bosome, deerely cherished. 1607 Cowell Interpr., Assumpsit, is a voluntarie promise made by word. 1729 Jacob Law Dict. s.v. Oath, A voluntary Oath, by the Consent and Agreement of the Parties, is lawful as well as a compulsory Oath. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. 137 [The perjury] is no more penal than in the voluntary extra⁓judicial oaths. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia v. iv, The next day Miss Belfield was to tell her everything by a voluntary promise. 1828–32 Webster, Voluntary affidavit or oath, is one made in an extra-judicial matter. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVI. 382 Oaths may be either voluntary or may be imposed by a political superior. 1883 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. s.v. Confession, There existed also an ancient practice of voluntary confession in public of private offences and secret sins.

  d. Law. Of documents, proceedings, etc. (see quots.).

1625 Glanville Voy. Cadiz (1883) 29 A voluntary certificate from some of the officers..to prove her a defective Shipp. 1724 Salkeld Reports III. 174 He, as a Purchaser, shall avoid this Conveyance, because it was voluntary, and therefore fraudulent. 1765–8 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. i. ii. §4 Voluntary [jurisdiction] was that which was exercised in matters that admitted of no opposition. Ibid. ii. viii. §17 If the wadsetter receive his money upon this intimation without compulsion,.. the redemption is voluntary. 1781 J. T. Atkyns Rep. Cases (ed. 2) II. 89 Even in voluntary settlements, if the words lean more strongly to the one construction than to the other, it must likewise prevail. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 521 The third mode of voluntary partition is, when the eldest makes the division of the lands; in which case she shall choose last. Ibid. IV. 401 Edward Bussey being possessed of a term for 59 years, by voluntary deed, conveyed it to trustees. 1845 Polson in Encycl. Metrop. II. 848/1 A voluntary charter is granted by a superior ex mero motû. 1860 Wharton Law Lex. (ed. 2) 757/2 Voluntary Answer, one filed by a defendant to a bill in equity, without being called upon to answer by the plaintiff. 1875 K. E. Digby Real Prop. (1876) 373 Voluntary conveyances of estates in land, that is, conveyances without any consideration, such as money or marriage.

  e. Naut. (See quot.)

1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 714 Voluntary charge, a document delivered with the purser's accounts respecting provisions.

  2. Physiol. Of bodily actions: Regulated or governed by the volitional faculty; subject to the will. (Cf. involuntary a. 1 b.)

c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 29 Brawn is maad of fleisch, senewe, & ligamentis, & þei ben instrument [of] voluntarie meuynge. 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 6 Voluntary motion depends upon the Nerves. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. vi. 23 Imagination is the first internal beginning of all Voluntary Motion. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Muscle, The Muscles of Voluntary Motion..have each of 'em their Antagonist Muscles. 1843 Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xv. 184 The muscles of voluntary life. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. i. ii. §17 The Spinal Cord..is necessary to sensation and to voluntary movement (movement from feeling). 1881 Mivart Cat 124 Amongst the voluntary movements are the various movements of the several members.

  3. a. Of conditions, etc.: Assumed or adopted voluntarily or by free choice; freely chosen or undertaken.

1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 22714 Kome fforthe, and se an exanplayre Off poverte not voluntarye. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 65 Scipion of affrique..was so poure of voluntarie pouerte y{supt}..he was buried at y⊇ dispencis of y⊇ comyn good. 1581 G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 45 b, The companie which we come into by chance, consisteth of many persons, but y{supt} which is voluntarie, which we ought to couet, containeth but few folke in it. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxxi. 154 Hee ended hys dayes in voluntarie exyle. 1611 Bible Col. ii. 18 Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a voluntarie humilitie. 1622 T. Scott Belg. Pismire 1 The Creatures subjected to his gouernment, in their voluntarie obedience. 1752 Young Brothers iii. i, I pretend 'twas voluntary flight To save a brother's blood. 1759 Johnson Rasselas xxviii, They discover what nothing but voluntary blindness before had concealed. 1847 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 85 The inhabitants of the town and country took a voluntary share in all the changes. 1877 Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. xv. 386 His exile was voluntary, not forced like Dante's.

transf. 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 10 The dead are..laid to sleep in a neat..dormitory, his Armolets, Bracelets, and voluntary shackles accompany him. Ibid. 38 Many voluntary rings and fetters of Brasse.

  b. Brought about by one's own choice or deliberate action; self-inflicted, self-induced.

1548 Elyot s.v. Voluntarius, Mors voluntaria, voluntarie death. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 246 marg., Voluntarie death ought not to be attempted of any wise man. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 126 These make profession of voluntarie death: and..when they are disposed to die at any time, they make a great funeral fire [etc.]. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 300, I haue made strong proofe of my Constancie, Giuing my selfe a voluntary wound Heere, in the Thigh. 1781 Cowper Truth 101 His voluntary pains, severe and long, Would give a barb'rous air to British song. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 61 A law to contravene Voluntary passage from this life. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn ix, One of those creatures..who, in that age, so often took refuge from a depraved life in a voluntary death.

  c. Entered into of free choice; also spec. (see quot. 1889).

1612–13 Sir H. Hobart Reports (1650) 149 We know well that the Primitive Church..were but voluntary Congregations of beleevers. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 158 In some districts..the ministers formed themselves into voluntary associations, for the purpose of mutual help and counsel. 1889 Cent. Dict. s.v. Association, Voluntary association, in law, a society which is unincorporated, but is not a partnership, in that the members are not agents for one another.

  4. a. Done of deliberate intent or purpose; designed, intentional.

(a) 1495 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 488/1 She theryn [sc. in lands devised to her] doyng noe voluntary Waste ne Destruccion. 1544 tr. Littleton's Tenures (1574) 15 b, If the lessee at wil make voluntarye wast, as in pullinge downe of houses, or in cuttinge or fellinge of trees. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 281 Waste is either voluntary, which is a crime of commission, as by pulling down a house; or it is permissive. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 714 Voluntary stranding, the beaching or running a vessel purposely aground to escape greater danger.

(b) 1530–1 Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 9 §1 Consyderyng that..voluntary murders [are] moste highly to be detested and abhorred. ? a 1600 Perkins (J.), If a man be lopping a tree and his ax-head fall from the helve,..and kills another passing by; here is indeed manslaughter, but no voluntary murther.

  b. Law. Of escapes: Deliberately permitted or connived at.

1660 Young Vade Mecum (ed. 6) 94 Voluntary [escape] is when one hath arrested another for felony or other crime, and doth afterwards suffer him to go whither he will. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. 130 Voluntary escapes, by consent and connivance of the officer, are a much more serious offence. 1797 Tomlins Jacob's Law Dict. s.v. Escape, If the marshal of the King's Bench..or any other who hath the keeping of prisons in fee, suffer a voluntary escape, it is a forfeiture of the office.

  5. Of gifts, etc.: Freely or spontaneously bestowed, rendered, or made; contributed voluntarily or by reason of generous or charitable motives.

1580 G. Harvey Let. Spenser S.'s Wks. (1912) 627/2 A small voluntarie Supplement of his owne..in commendation of hir..thrice excellent Maiestie. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. xvii. §8. 490 He exhorted all others to a voluntary contribution. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xlii. 287 A common stock of mony, raised out of the voluntary contributions of the faithfull. 1682 Penn in Clarkson Mem. (1813) I. 321 Let the Lord have a voluntary share of your income for the good of the poor. 1728 Chambers Cycl., Charity Schools, are Schools erected and maintain'd in various Parishes, by the voluntary Contributions of the Inhabitants. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 359 Nor is it every contribution, called voluntary, which is according to the free will of the giver. 1800 Asiatic Ann. Reg., Misc. Tracts 335/1 Neither shall any subsidy be exacted from them,..what they furnish shall be voluntary. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 46 The clergy were supported by the voluntary offerings of their flocks. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. XIII. 918/2 Voluntary contributions in aid of the national resources. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 2 Mar. 2/3 You have got to go to the school whether you like to or not, whilst the ‘voluntary’ part of the maintenance is just twopence out of every shilling.

  II. 6. † a. Of the will, etc.: Free, unforced, unconstrained. Obs.

1508 Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. cxxx. Wks. (1876) 230 We knowe..that almyghty god of his owne voluntary wyll and gracyous volunty..redemed vs. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 206 Duke Maurice served themperour..of hys oune voluntarye mynde. 1563 Golding Cæsar i. (1565) 33 b, Consideryng he offered of his own voluntary wil, the thing he hadde before denied when it was requested.

  b. voluntary faculty, the will.

1867 J. Alden Elem. Intell. Philos. xxvi. 261 By the voluntary faculty, or the will, we mean simply the capacity of the mind to perform acts of volition.

  7. a. Of persons: That is such of one's own accord or free choice; acting voluntarily, willingly, or spontaneously in a specified capacity; also, endowed with the faculty of willing.

1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. iii. §2 God did not worke as a necessary but a voluntary agent. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iii. v. 158 That thou wilt be a voluntarie Mute to my designe. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xx. 205 No pity is to be shown to such voluntary cripples. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 61 Sending thee Mans Friend, his Mediator, his design'd Both Ransom and Redeemer voluntarie. 1754 Edwards Freed. Will ii. iv. 50 The Soul is an active Being in Nothing further than it is a voluntary or elective Being. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. ii. I. 43 These voluntary exiles were engaged, for the most part, in the occupations of commerce. 1868 Huxley Lay Serm. iii. (1870) 46 The greatest voluntary wanderers and colonists the world has ever seen.

  † b. Serving as a volunteer soldier; that is a volunteer; also, composed of volunteers. Obs.

1586 Acts Privy Council N.S. XIV. 55 A Commission..to levie..the number of 150 voluntarie footemen. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 5 b, The souldiors thereby being made voluntary, haue obeyed their Captaines no otherwise than hath pleased themselues. 1604 E. Grimstone Siege Ostend 30 The Arch-duke had caused..a volontarie Gentleman..to be put in prison. 1632 Lithgow Trav. viii. 350, I left Mr. Bruce with a Galley Captaine a voluntary Souldier. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §249 S{supr} Nicholas Slanning's, and Colonel Trevannion's Voluntary Regiments.

  c. poet. Of a sword: Offered freely or willingly in aid of some cause.

1761 Gray Epit. Sir W. Williams ii, At Aix his voluntary sword he drew, There first in blood his infant honor seal'd. 1808 Scott Marm. iv. Introd., Eleven years we now may tell, Since..our hand First drew the voluntary brand.

  d. voluntary patient, one who enters a mental hospital without being committed to it.

1930 Daily Express 6 Sept. 9/4 Instructions sent by the Board of Control to local authorities regarding the working of the Mental Treatment Act (1930) stipulate that ‘mental hospital’ is to be substituted for ‘asylum’, and ‘voluntary patient’ is to be used instead of ‘voluntary boarder’. 1943 G. Greene Ministry of Fear iii. i. 167 If only someone would complain—they are all voluntary patients. 1979 J. Thomson Deadly Relations xiii. 189, I had a nervous breakdown... I..was sent to a clinic..as a voluntary patient.

  † 8. Favourably inclined or disposed (to do something); willing, ready. Obs.

1597 A. M. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. f iv, I am so voluntarye to communicate the same vnto certayne of my goode frendes. 1638 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 133 The greater parte of the Common Councell..beinge all voluntary tendered to lend [to] the towne for the expedicion of the towne's business att London. 1668 Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 263 He should be so much more at liberty to show how voluntary and affectionate he was to your Corporation. 1741–2 Gray Agrippina 36 When yet a stranger To adoration,..and obsequious vows From voluntary realms. 1768 H. Walpole Hist. Doubts Pref. p. xv, When a successful king is chief justice, historians become a voluntary jury.

absol. 1611 Bible Ps. xlvii. 9 marg., The voluntarie of the people are gathered vnto the people of the God of Abraham.

transf. 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. i. (1626) 11 Other Creatures tooke their numerous birth And figures, from the voluntary Earth. 1652 Crashaw Carmen Deo Nostro, Mary Magdalene xxi, That King..That thus can boast to be Waited on by a wandring mine, A voluntary mint, that strowes Warm sylver showres where're he goes!

  9. a. Of institutions: Maintained or supported solely or largely by the freewill offerings or contributions of members or subscribers, and free from State interference or control; spec. in Educ. with reference to schools, etc., maintained by voluntary bodies.

1745 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 277 The education of poor children was all along taken care of by voluntary charities. 1837 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire II. 491 Private or Voluntary Schools. 1867 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 647/1 The United Presbyterian Church is..not only in practice, but also in theory, a voluntary church. 1868 Ibid. X. 651/1 They held that the same objections did not apply to voluntary organisations [for educational purposes]. 1944 Act 7 & 8 Geo. VI c. 31 §8 Primary and secondary schools maintained by a local education authority, not being nursery schools or special schools, shall, if established by a local education authority..be known as county schools and, if established otherwise than by such an authority, be known as voluntary schools. 1969 L. Tinkham in Cockburn & Blackburn Student Power 84 There are now about one hundred Local Education Authority colleges and half as many independent voluntary colleges. 1976 Star (Sheffield) 29 Nov. 9/1 Pupils will be transferred to the Perlethorpe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School.

  b. Of or pertaining to, concerned or connected with, voluntaryism in respect of the Church or educational institutions.

1834 Graham in C. S. Parker Life & Lett. (1907) I. 198, I cannot favour in the least ‘the Voluntary Principle’. 1867 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 646/1 A great controversy..known as the Voluntary Controversy (1829–1834). 1868 Ibid. X. 23/2 An important article in the Voluntary creed. 1891 E. Kinglake Australian at Home 51 The voluntary system..is almost universal in Australia. The clergyman is the servant of his congregation, and must please them or go.

  c. Of persons: Advocating or supporting the voluntary principle as opposed to State establishment and control.

1835 C. J. Brown Ch. Establishm. iv. 15 Voluntary Churchmen, out of an Establishment, talk of the independence of the Church—our forefathers, within one, bled and died for it. 1868 Chambers's Encycl. X. 24/1 Those known as Voluntary educationists reject the idea of any national system.

  10. a. Of muscles, etc.: Acting or moving in response to the volition; directing or controlling voluntary movements.

1788 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 702/1 The motions.., in a natural and healthy state, are subject to the will, and for this reason they are called voluntary muscles. 1843 Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xv. 186 A debility of the voluntary muscles. 1864 Webster, Voluntary nerve, nerve distributed to voluntary muscle. 1884 Pop. Sci. Monthly June 174 We see here that atrophy begins in the most voluntary limb, the arm.

  b. Physiol. (See quot.)

1860 Mayne Expos. Lex. 1337/1 Voluntary Motor Power,..the power exercised by the brain and nerves in volition, in distinction from the excito-motor power, or that which is peculiar to the spinal marrow and its nerves.

  III. † 11. Growing wild or naturally; of spontaneous growth. Obs. rare.

1620 Venner Via Recta vii. 130 The wilde or voluntary Strawberries, that I may so terme them. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 4 Feeding on such homely and voluntary diet as that wild place would afford. 1718 Pope Iliad xiv. 396 Glad earth perceives, and from her bosom pours Unbidden herbs and voluntary flowers.

  B. adv. = voluntarily adv.
  In early use perh. partly after L. voluntāriē.

1480 Cov. Leet Bk. 435 All þe forseid persones..cam voluntarye, & seid openly ther to þe seid Maire, þat [etc.]. 1562 Child-Marriages 75 The said Henrie did neuer lye with the said Mavde, nor did cohabete voluntarie together. c 1595 Capt. Wyatt Dudley's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 34 One of them voluntarie profered to goe with him into Englande. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. d 4 b, He did this voluntarie, according to the example of the ancient Decii. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena To Rdr., In excuse of my not voluntary undergoing..the burthen of this Translation. 1671 Milton P.R. ii. 394 If of that pow'r I bring thee voluntary What I might have bestow'd on whom I pleas'd. 1710 Prideaux Orig. Tithes iii. 145 All should voluntary pay them in their Offerings at the Church. 1769 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. ii. (1876) 322 To go voluntary to a tribunal where he knows he must be humbled.

  C. n. I. † 1. Free will or choice; = volunty. In the phrases of, out of, upon, or at (a person's) own voluntary, at voluntary.

(a) 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xix. 23 b, Of theyr owne voluntarie [they] came to surrender themselues. Ibid. i. xx. 25 The offer [was] made vppon his owne voluntary. 1590 Greene Mourn. Garm. Wks. (Grosart) IX. 168 If you were to chuse husbands at your owne voluntary. 1606 G. Woodcock Hist. Ivstine ii. 16 After this the Spartans,..out of their own voluntary, inuaded the borders of their Empire. a 1617 Bayne On Eph. (1643) 317 How canst thou,..out of thy voluntary, converse with them who are not sanctified? 1633 J. Done tr. Aristeas' Hist. Septuagint 59 Uppon his owne voluntary, he came often to visite the workes.

(b) 1590 Greene Neuer too late Wks. (Grosart) VIII. 71 Womens flatteries [were] too forceable to resist at voluntarie. 1591 ― Conny Catch. ii. 11 He began to..rap out gogs Nownes, and pronounes, while at voluntarie he had sworne through the eight parts of speach in the Accidence.

  2. † a. Music added at the will of the performer to a piece played or sung. Obs.

1565 Jewel Reply Harding (1611) 113 This is the plaine song, and may well stand for the ground: the rest is altogether descant and vaine voluntary, and the most part out of tune. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 126 To make two parts vpon a plainesong is more hard then to make three parts into voluntary. Ibid., Rules which may serue him both for descant and voluntary.

  b. A musical piece or movement played or sung spontaneously or of one's free choice, esp. by way of prelude to a more elaborate piece, song, etc.

1598 Florio, Preludio, a proheme in musicke, a voluntary before the song. 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. i. i, Upon his instrument he plays so swiftly, So many voluntaries, and so quick, That [etc.]. 1662 Playford Skill Mus. i. 60 He with his Harp..ending his excellent Voluntary with some choice Fancy upon this Phrygian Mood. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xix. (Roxb.) 154/2 The seuerall Beates or points of warre are these... 4. A Voluntary before the March. 1754 R. Newton Char. Theophrastus 7 Something in the nature of a flourish, or of a voluntary before the tune. a 1785 T. Potter Moralist II. 134 He took up his flute, and touched a few notes of the voluntary he had heard the night before. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xlviii, Sitting down to the piano, she rattled away a triumphant voluntary on the keys.

fig. and transf. 1603 J. Hind Mirrour Worldly Fame v, Dancing is the voluntary, which is played before a passage is made to unlawful desires. 1629 Gaule Holy Madn. 155 Like a fantasticke Musician, he chiefly pleases himselfe; while he leaues the Grounds, to run upon the Voluntaries. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies ii. viii. 255 The Lark and the Thrush sung their Voluntaries. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 504 ¶1 These can..say you are dull to-day, and laugh a Voluntary to put you in humour. 1795 Burke Let. to W. Elliot Wks. 1842 II. 240, I have been told of the voluntary, which, for the entertainment of the house of lords, has been lately played by his Grace. 1814 Scott Wav. xliii, He..ran off in a wild voluntary of fanciful mirth. a 1881 Rossetti House of Life ix, This harp still makes my name its voluntary.

  c. esp. A piece or solo, usu. consisting of two or more movements, played upon the organ before, during, or after any office of the Church; also, the music for this.
  in-voluntary, out-voluntary, those respectively played at the beginning and close of a religious service.

1712 Steele Spect. No. 503 ¶2 Now the Organ was to play a Voluntary, and she..kept time..with some Motion of her Head. 1731 in Abridgm. Specif. Patents, Music (1871) 2 All psalm tunes, fuges, volunteries, and anthems that are usually sung in churches or chappells. 1779 Phil. Trans. LXIX. 193 Several voluntaries which he heard..the organist play at the Cathedral. 1801 Busby Dict. Mus. s.v., The voluntary was originally so called, because its performance, or non-performance, was at the option of the organist. 1837 Hood Ode R. Wilson 398 Let the solemn, swelling, organ greet, With Voluntaries meet, The willing advent of the rich and poor. 1870 Anderson Missions Amer. Bd. II. xxxviii. 344 A voluntary skillfully played..on the powerful organ belonging to the church.

fig. 1863 Cowden Clarke Shaks. Char. xvii. 448 This scene..will form a choice voluntary as conclusion to our homily.

  † 3. A voluntary oath. Obs.^—1

1593 Bilson Govt. Chr. Ch. 270 In matters of religion that touch the peace and safetie of the whole Church of Christ, do you looke your voluntarie should bee receiued without all authoritie or testimonie to warrant it?

  † 4. An occurrence or event due to some person's voluntary action. Obs. rare.

1652 Gaule Magastrom. 83 Casualties and voluntaries, whose events are not so much as probable, as not having any such causes as aforesaid.

  5. An extempore, optional, or voluntary piece of writing or composition.

1690 Temple Ess., Poetry Wks. 1720 I. 245 The Priapeia..were little Voluntaries or Extemporaries, written upon the ridiculous Wooden Statues of Priapus. 1801 W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. (1843) I. 387 If I get Phillips to receive his voluntaries in the Monthly Magazine, he..will take the less pains. 1860 Mansfield School-life at Winchester (1870) 107 Præfects and Senior part also were encouraged to write..a copy of verses on any subject selected by themselves, which was called a ‘Voluntary’. 1876 Lowell Among my Books Ser. ii. 206 At school he wrote some task-verses..and also some voluntaries of his own.

  6. A voluntary contribution.

1837–8 J. Keegan Leg. & Poems (1907) 80 [The heap of stones] at last assumed a size sufficiently large to attract the attention of every person who went the way, who, in their turn, added their ‘voluntary’ to the pile.

  7. A parting of a rider from his horse without sufficient cause; an unwarranted fall. Freq. to cut a voluntary.

1863 G. A. Lawrence Border & Bastille ii. 33 A conscript, who could keep his saddle, through an entire day, without ‘taking a voluntary’, was considered..a credit to the regiment. 1883 Mrs. Kennard Right Sort xxi, They will say I cut a voluntary... The stirrup-leather alone was to blame. 1890 Field 8 Feb. 177 The number of ‘voluntaries’ which are ever taking place in the hunting field.

  8. A voluntary examination.

1894 J. Payn Gleams of Memory 75 As an initial step to my becoming a divine, it was..necessary to pass ‘the Voluntary’—a theological examination in my case very inappropriately named.

  II. † 9. One voluntarily, and usually without pay, serving as a soldier in a campaign, battle, etc.; = volunteer n. 1. Obs.
  In very frequent use from 1600 to 1645.

1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 67 Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries,..Haue sold their fortunes at their natiue homes,..To make a hazard of new fortunes heere. 1601 Mountjoy in Moryson Itin. ii. (1617) 138 Diuers worthy men..haue followed the wars here as voluntaries to their very great expence. 1622 F. Markham Bk. War i. vii. 25 Those Souldiers, which we call by the name of Voluntaries, being a ranke of men which voluntarily, and of their owne meere motion without any constraint at all, doe betake themselues vnto the Warres. 1636 Winthrop New Eng. (1825) I. 195 The soldiers who went were all voluntaries, and had only their victuals provided, but demanded no pay. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. v. 219 Turkitel the Dane..got leave of the King, with as many voluntaries as would follow him, to pass into France.

fig. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus ii. 6 Let them now serue as voluntaries vnder the Captaine Iesus Christ.

transf. 1627 J. Taylor (Water P.) Navy Land Ships A ij b, There were 7. other needlesse Ships which were in the nature of voluntaries, or hangers on vpon the Nauy.

  10. One who undertakes or engages in any kind of service, enterprise, etc., of his own choice or free-will; = volunteer n. 3.

1609 Bible (Douay) 1 Macc. ii. 42 Then there was gathered to them the synagoge of the Assideans.., everie voluntarie in the law. 1612 H. Ainsworth Annot. Ps. cx. 3 Thy people shall be voluntaries in the day of thy power. 1628 Wither Brit. Rememb. iii. 1507 That none durst become a voluntary, In such a Fire, for conscience sake, to tarie. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 146 Unto Esdras was granted..licence to goe up unto Jerusalem, to carry with him all such voluntaries as would goe.

  † 11. One who is willing or ready to give way or withdraw. Obs.^—1

1620 [G. Brydges] Horæ Subs. 25 If..they..could haue beene content to withdraw..it would haue expressed an excellent temper, and moderation. But few such voluntaries bee found.

  12. One who holds or advocates that the Church (or educational institutions) should be maintained by voluntary contributions and be independent of State connexion or support. Cf. voluntaryist.

1834 Tait's Mag. I. 418/1 The Governor was a Voluntary; but Lord Goderich granted [the congregation] the L. 100 from the colonial revenue. 1843 E. Miall in Nonconf. III. 241 Where the truth has got hold of a man it makes him a real voluntary. 1868 Chambers's Encycl. X. 651/1 Obstacles to the establishment of a national system [of education] more formidable than the opposition of the Voluntaries.

  
  
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   ▸ voluntary simplicity n. a philosophy or way of life that rejects material acquisition in favour of moral and spiritual values, and is characterized by environmental responsibility, community cooperation, and minimal consumption; the adoption of such a lifestyle (to a greater or lesser degree), esp. in order to lead a less stressful life or manage on a lower income; cf. downshift v. 2b.

1917 E. B. Holt & W. James tr. T. Flournoy Philos. of William James viii. 128 This indispensable moral equivalent [to war] he descried in a *voluntary simplicity, in the steadfast renunciation of the luxuries and superfluities of life. 1936R. Gregg in Visva-bharati Q. 2 27 Voluntary simplicity involves both inner and outer condition. It means singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life. 1977 D. Elgin & A. Mitchell in CoEvolution Q. Summer 4/1-2 Beneath this popular image of simple living, we think there is a major social movement afoot... This is the movement towards ‘voluntary simplicity’—a phrase we have borrowed from Richard Gregg... We think that voluntary simplicity may prove an increasingly powerful economic, social, and political force over the coming decade. 1996 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 29 Feb. 814/2 ‘Voluntary simplicity’ was described as a more radical and ecologically-based form of downshifting.

Oxford English Dictionary