sua sponte

Definition

Without prompting or suggestion; on its own initiative.

Etymology

A borrowing of Latin sua sponte (“at its own prompting; by its own impulse; of its own free will”)

Example Sentences

• "Decretals... ought, properly speaking, to be distinguished, on the one hand from constitutions... enacted by the Pope sua sponte without reference to any particular case, and on the other hand from rescripts... which apply only to special circumstances or individuals, and constitute no general precedent. But this nomenclature is not strictly observed."