from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
VOLUNTARY JURISDICTION. In the ecclesiastical law, jurisdiction is either
contentious jurisdiction, (q.v.) or voluntary jurisdiction. By the latter
term is understood that kind of jurisdiction which requires no judicial
proceedings, as, the granting letters of administration and receiving the
probate of wills.