Optional

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɒp.ʃə.nəl/

Definitions

1. Not required or mandatory; something that may be chosen or omitted according to one's preference or discretion
2. Pertaining to a choice that is neither obligatory nor strictly necessary
3. it can be selected or disregarded based on personal judgment or inclination

Etymology: Its base is "option," borrowed from Latin "optio," meaning "choice" or "wish," which comes from the verb "optare," "to choose." The Latin word described a free decision, so the adjective keeps that sense: something you may take or leave. The ending is the suffix "-al," which goes back to Latin "-ālis," meaning "pertaining to." It reached English through Old French, where it appeared as "-el," and it emerged in Middle English as "-al." Put together, "optional" literally means "pertaining to choice," and the modern sense of "neither required nor strictly necessary" follows directly from that.

Synonyms: voluntary, discretionary, noncompulsory, elective, selective

Antonyms: mandatory, compulsory, required, obligatory, enforced