spontaneous
/spɒnˈteɪniəs/spon-TAY-nee-uhs
/spɑnˈteɪniəs/spahn-TAY-nee-uhs
Meaningof free choice
Common meaning: unplanned
Other meanings: arising naturally
- spontby free choice, unpromptedLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1747 · scan
- aneousadjective ending (Latin -aneus)
Journey through time
- Latinsponte‘by free choice, unprompted’
- Englishspontaneous‘unplanned’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin sponte ‘by free choice, unprompted’.
Roots
- sponte Latin “by free choice, unprompted”
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app