1. One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his own free
will.
2. (Mil.) One who enters into service voluntarily, but who, when in
service, is subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers;
— opposed to conscript; specifically, a voluntary member of the
organized militia of a country as distinguished from the standing army.
3. (Law) A grantee in a voluntary conveyance; one to whom a conveyance
is made without valuable consideration; a party, other than a wife or
child of the grantor, to whom, or for whose benefit, a voluntary
conveyance is made. Burrill.
Vol`un*teer", a. Of or pertaining to a volunteer or volunteers;
consisting of volunteers; voluntary; as, volunteer companies; volunteer
advice.
Vol`un*teer", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Volunteered (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Volunteering.] To offer or bestow voluntarily, or without solicitation
or compulsion; as, to volunteer one's services.
Vol`un*teer", v. i. To enter into, or offer for, any service of one's
own free will, without solicitation or compulsion; as, he volunteered
in that undertaking.
Vol"u*pere (?), n. [Cf. Envelop.] A woman's cap. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Vo*lup"tu*a*ry (?; 135), n.; pl. Voluptuaries (#). [L. voluptuarius or
voluptarius, fr. voluptas pleasure.] A voluptuous person; one who makes
his physical enjoyment his chief care; one addicted to luxury, and the
gratification of sensual appetites.
A good-humored, but hard-hearted, voluptuary.
Sir W. Scott.
Syn. — Sensualist; epicure.
Vo*lup"tu*a*ry, a. Voluptuous; luxurious.
Vo*lup"tu*ous (?), a. [F. voluptueux, L. voluptuosus, fr. voluptas
pleasure, volup agreeably, delightfully; probably akin to Gr. &?; to
hope, &?; hope, and to L. velle to wish. See Voluntary.] 1. Full of
delight or pleasure, especially that of the senses; ministering to
sensuous or sensual gratification; exciting sensual desires; luxurious;
sensual.
Music arose with its voluptuous swell.
Byron.
Sink back into your voluptuous repose.
De Quincey.
2. Given to the enjoyments of luxury and pleasure; indulging to excess
in sensual gratifications. "The jolly and voluptuous livers."
Atterbury.
Softened with pleasure and voluptuous life.
Milton.
— Vo*lup"tu*ous*ly, adv. — Vo*lup"tu*ous*ness, n.
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Vo*lup"ty (?), n. [Cf. F. volupté pleasure. See Voluptuous.]
Voluptuousness. [Obs.]
Vo*lu"ta (?), n.; pl. E. Volutas (#), L. Volutæ (#). [L., a spiral
scroll. See Volute.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of large,
handsome marine gastropods belonging to Voluta and allied genera.
Vol`u*ta"tion (?), n. [L. volutatio, from volutare to roll, wallow,
verb freq. volvere, volutum, to roll.] A rolling of a body; a
wallowing. [R.] Sir T. Browne.
Vo*lute" (?), n. [F. volute (cf. It. voluta), L. voluta, from volvere,
volutum, to roll. See Voluble.]
1. (Arch.) A spiral scroll which forms the chief feature of the Ionic
capital, and which, on a much smaller scale, is a feature in the
Corinthian and Composite capitals. See Illust. of Capital, also Helix,
and Stale.