VOL'UNTARY, a. [L. voluntarius, from voluntas, will, from volo.] 1. Acting by choice or spontaneously; acting without being influenced or impelled by another.2. Free, or having power to act by choice; not being under restraint; as, man is a voluntary agent.3. Proceeding from choice or free will.That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action, is the true principle of orthodoxy.4. Willing; acting with willingness.She fell to lust a voluntary prey.5. Done by design; purposed; intended. If a man kills another by lopping a tree, here is no voluntary murder.6. Done freely, or of choice; proceeding from free will. He went into voluntary exile. He made a voluntary surrender.7. Acting of his own accord; spontaneous; as the voluntary dictates of knowledge.8. Subject to the will; as the voluntary motions of an animal. Thus the motion of a leg or an arm is voluntary, but the motion of the heart is involuntary.A voluntary escape, in law, is the escape of a prisoner by the express consent of the sheriff.Voluntary jurisdiction, is that which is exercised in doing that which no one opposes; as in granting dispensations, &c.Voluntary affidavit or oath, is one made in an extra-judicial matter.Voluntary waste, is that which is committed by positive acts.VOL'UNTARY, n. 1. One who engages in any affair of his own free will; a volunteer. [In this sense, volunteer is now generally used.]2. In music, a piece played by a musician extemporarily, according to his fancy. In the Philosophical Transactions, we have a method of writing voluntaries, as fast as the musician plays the notes. This is by a cylinder turning under the keys of the organ.3. A composition for the organ. |
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In celebration of Noah Webster's Birthday (October 16, 2009), we have prepared an updated website. 
