Volunteered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Freely offered to do something, especially work or help, without being asked ; willingly gave information or made a statement without prompting
2. Chose to provide help or perform a task of one's own accord ; voluntarily shared facts or answers without being solicited
3. Offered one's time or effort without coercion ; spontaneously disclosed details or spoke up without invitation

Etymology: The verb "volunteer" comes from the Latin "voluntarius," meaning "willing" or "of one's own accord," which is itself built from "voluntas," "will" or "desire." The Latin adjective passed into Middle French as "voluntaire," and English took the idea in a striking way: the noun for a person who offers service freely arrived first, and only later did the verb form of "volunteer" come into use for the act of offering oneself. The notion of freely given service was originally tied closely to the military, where men who stepped forward without being conscripted were set apart from those who were compelled. The word's central meaning has stayed remarkably stable, which makes its later extension to speech more striking. Offering time or effort is the older sense, while spontaneously speaking up or disclosing information without being asked stretches the same idea of unprompted willingness from action into talk. Someone who volunteers an answer is doing exactly what a volunteer soldier did, stepping forward without a summons.

Synonyms: offered, provided, submitted, donated, contributed

Antonyms: withheld, retained, retracted, recalled, denied