Nonmandatory

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Something that is optional and does not have to be done or included
2. Describes an action or rule that is voluntary rather than imposed
3. Refers to a choice or condition that is not obligatory or mandatory

Etymology: "Nonmandatory" is a plain compound: the prefix "non-" joined to "mandatory." The prefix comes from Old English "nān," meaning "not one," which worked its way through Middle English "non" before settling into the productive negating element English uses today. Attached to a word it simply reverses the sense, so "nonmandatory" describes something that is not required. "Mandatory" is the more interesting half. It descends from the Latin "mandatum," a command or charge, the same root that gives English "mandate" and "command" through its own paths. Its sense of "required by authority" builds directly on that idea of an order being given. Put the two halves together and "nonmandatory" names what an authority has chosen not to order: a task you may skip, a field you may leave blank, a course you may decline.

Synonyms: optional, voluntary, discretionary

Antonyms: mandatory, compulsory, obligatory