a. [f. L. stontāne-us, f. sponte of one’s own accord, freely, willingly. So F. spontané(e, It. spontaneo, Sp. and Pg. espontaneo.]
1. Of personal actions: Arising or proceeding entirely from natural impulse, without any external stimulus or constraint; voluntary and of one’s own accord.
1656. Hobbes, Liberty, etc. (1841), 79. That all voluntary actions, where the thing that induceth the will is not fear, are called also spontaneous, and said to be done by a man’s own accord.
1690. C. Nesse, Hist. & Myst. O. & N. Test., I. 43. Her eating therefore was a spontaneous act.
1727. De Foe, Hist. Agpar., i. (1840), 16. By apparition also I am to understand such appearances of these superior beings, as are spontaneous and voluntary.
1781. J. Moore, View Soc. It. (1790), I. ix. 91. The spontaneous respect paid to the antiquity of their families.
1839. Hallam, Hist. Lit., II. i. § 29. The resemblance of natural disposition made it a spontaneous act of Muretus to fall into the footsteps of Cicero.
1868. M. Pattison, Academ. Org., 6. The movement was by no means a spontaneous one on the part of the House.
b. Of persons: Acting voluntarily and from natural prompting.
1732. Berkeley, Alciphr., II. § 21. It was needless to establish professors … while there are so many spontaneous lecturers in every corner of the streets.
1829. I. Taylor, Enthus., iv. 79. The ranks of a numerous body of men can never be filled up by spontaneous labourers of this sort.
c. Of utterances, etc.: Coming freely and without premeditation or effort.
1856. N. Brit. Rev., XXVI. 52. The privileged visitor … would … have heard from him … similar spontaneous expositions of Scripture.
1870. Burton, Hist. Scot., lxxii. (1873), VI. 265. A spontaneous thought which he could not help uttering.
1885. Manch. Exam., 9 Sept., 3/1. The fun is never strained or beaten out, but is always fresh, spontaneous, and luxuriant.
2. Of motion: Arising purely from, entirely determined by, the internal operative or directive forces of the organism.
1659. H. More, Immort. Soul, II. ii. 126. Sense … must likewise Imagine, Remember, Reason, and be the fountain of spontaneous Motion.
1695. J. Edwards, Perfect. Script., 334. Things that had sense and spontaneous motion.
1750. G. Hughes, Barbados, III. 61. Animals are sensitive organic Bodies, endued with spontaneous Motion.
1807. J. E. Smith, Phys. Bot., 2. Vegetables … have in some instances spontaneous, though we know not that they have voluntary, motion.
1848. Carpenter, Anim. Phys., 17. These two functions,—sensibility and the power of spontaneous motion,—being peculiar to animals, are called the functions of animal life.
1880. Bessey, Botany, 196. Living protoplasm has everywhere, under proper conditions, the power of spontaneous movement.
1882. Vines, trans. Sachs’ Bot., 87. These movements were termed ‘spontaneous nutations.’
3. Of natural processes: Occurring without apparent external cause; having a self-contained cause or origin.
In 19th cent use esp. of chemical or physical changes: see quots. under (b).
(a) 1664. Power, Exp. Philos., II. 117. The Spontaneous Dilatation and Elastick Rarefaction of that little remnant of Ayr.
1692. Bentley, Boyle Lect., iv. 114. A spontaneous production of Mankind may not possibly have been true.
1751. Johnson, Rambler, No. 163, ¶ 3. He expects every moment to be placed in regions of spontaneous fertility.
1765. Museum Rust., IV. 200. I suppose there was no corn on it of spontaneous growth.
1831. Scott, Cast. Dang., v. The old man looked with horror at the spontaneous motion of the book.
1859. Mill, Liberty, iv. (1865), 45/2. He suffers these penalties only in so far as they are … the spontaneous consequences of the faults themselves.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., II. 292. The spontaneous falling of the stones appeared more frequent this morning.
(b) 1805. Saunders, Min. Waters, 338. The spontaneous changes which this water undergoes.
1813. J. Thomson, Lect. Inflam., 51. When inflammation occurs … without our being able to trace its production to the action of any obvious cause, it is termed spontaneous inflammation.
1836–41. Brande, Chem. (ed. 5), 561. The aqueous solution … is subject to spontaneous decomposition.
1861. J. R. Greene, Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent., 182. The mode in which spontaneous fission occurs among many other forms of Actinozoa.
† b. spec. Of lassitude. Obs.
1675. Owen, Indwelling Sin, ix. (1732), 105. A spontaneous Lassitude, or a causeless Weariness and Indisposition of the Body.
1732. Arbuthnot, Rules of Diet, in Aliments, etc. 378. Its Symptoms are a spontaneous Lassitude or Sensation of Weariness.
4. a. Spontaneous generation, the development of living organisms without the agency of pre-existing living matter, usually considered as resulting from changes taking place in some inorganic substance. (Cf. EQUIVOCAL a. 3.)
The possibility of such development, once generally accepted as a fact and subsequently rejected, has been a subject of debate in more recent times.
1656. Cowley, Pindar. Odes, Notes, Wks. 1710, I. 278. The Generation of Serpents, which is Spontaneous sometimes.
1665. Hooke, Microgr., 141. For the Sea … affords as many Instances of spontaneous generations as either the Air or Earth.
1728. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Equivocation, Equivocal Generation,… which we also call spontaneous, was commonly asserted and believed among the antient Philosophers.
1835. J. Duncan, Beetles, 194. Admitting the doctrine of spontaneous generation, it was necessary [etc.].
1857. Henfrey, Bot., 543. The idea of a spontaneous generation of organic bodies is now exploded.
1882. Vines, trans. Sachs’ Bot., 944. The first and simplest plants had no ancestors; they arose by spontaneous generation.
fig. 1870. Max Müller, Sci. Relig. (1873), 377. You see the spontaneous generation of mythology with every new name that is formed.
b. Spontaneous combustion, the fact of taking fire, or burning away, through conditions produced within the substance itself; spec. the alleged occurrence of this fact in persons addicted to the excessive use of alcohol.
(a) 1800. W. Nicholson’s Jrnl. Nat. Philos., XXIII. 278. The spontaneous combustion of a large quantity of charcoal.
1863. Watts, Dict. Chem., I. 1093. The spontaneous combustion … of masses of tow, cotton, or rags saturated with oil.
1876. Voyle & Stevenson, Milit. Dict., 397/1. New-burnt charcoal, and particularly new ground charcoal, is very liable to spontaneous combustion.
(b) 1795. Repertory of Arts, II. 424. I shall not pass over in silence the spontaneous combustions of human bodies.
1799. W. Nicholson’s Jrnl. Nat. Philos., III. 305. The apparently spontaneous Combustion of living Individuals of the human Species.
1832. Brewster, Natural Magic, xiii. 321. The extraordinary phenomenon of the spontaneous combustion of living bodies.
1853. Dickens, Bleak Ho., Pref. It was shown upon the evidence that she had died the death to which this name of spontaneous combustion has been given.
1882. Syd. Soc. Lex., s.v. Combustion, Spontaneous combustion.… In most of the cases recorded,… either they have been near a fire, or some suspicious circumstances suggestive of murder have been present.
5. Growing or produced naturally without cultivation or labor.
1665. Hooke, Microgr., 214. Spontaneous Vegetables seeming a food proper enough for spontaneous Animals.
1684. Penn, in Academy (1896), 11 Jan., 37/1. I have observed three sorts [of vines]…. Thes are spontaneous.
1705. R. Beverly, Virginia, II. iv. (1727), 127. Whence they had their Indian Corn, I can give no Account; for I don’t believe that it was spontaneous in those Parts.
1725. Pope, Odyss., IX. 125. Spontaneous wines from weighty clusters pour.
1760–2. Goldsm., Cit. W., xxxi. Spontaneous flowers take place of the finished parterre.
1805. Saunders, Min. Waters, 333. Except the turf, and some scanty heath, no spontaneous vegetation is to be seen.
1837. Ht. Martineau, Soc. Amer., II. 49. We passed ‘a spontaneous rye-field.’
1883. Day, Indian Fish, 8. Fish cured with salt-earth, or spontaneous but untaxed salt.
b. Freq. with fruits, products, productions.
a. 1727. Newton, Chronol. Amended, i. (1728), 183. These several colonies … fed on the spontaneous fruits of the earth.
1751. Johnson, Rambler, No. 169, ¶ 4. There are regions of which the spontaneous products cannot be equalled in other soils by care and culture.
1826. Syd. Smith, Wks. (1859), II. 67/2. If the English were in a paradise of spontaneous productions, they would continue to dig and plough.
1839. Hallam, Hist. Lit., III. iv. § 96. When men lived on the spontaneous fruits of the earth.
1872. Morley, Voltaire, 6. The self-raised spontaneous products of some miraculous soil.
c. Produced, developed, coming into existence, by natural processes or changes.
1732. Arbuthnot, Rules of Diet, in Aliments, etc. 290. Constitutions abounding with a spontaneous alkali, ought to avoid alkaline Substances.
1779. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2), IV. 2671/2. Mr. Wilcke … distinguishes it by the name of spontaneous electricity.
1826. Art of Brewing (ed. 2), 28. Leaving a portion of matter unattenuated, to produce briskness, and, consequently, spontaneous fineness and flavour.
1846. G. E. Day, trans. Simon’s Anim. Chem., II. 249. The urine which threw down a spontaneous sediment.
1862. Marsh, Eng. Lang., iii. 59. All the gorgeous spontaneous hues of sun-lit cloud.
6. Quasi-adv. = next.
1667. Milton, P. L., VII. 203. Chariots wing’d … now came forth Spontaneous.
1720. Pope, Iliad, XVII. 248. The stubborn arms … Conform’d spontaneous, and around him closed.
1780. Cowper, Progr. Error, 364. But we, as if good qualities would grow Spontaneous, take but little pains to sow.
1810. Scott, Lady of L., I. xxxii. Till to her lips in measured frame The minstrel verse spontaneous came.
