Etimology
From Middle English willen, wullen, wollen, from Old English willan (“to want”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjan, from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch willen, Low German willen, German wollen, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, Norwegian Bokmål ville, Latin velle (“wish”, verb), Latin volo, French vouloir, Italian volere, and Albanian vel (“to satisfy, be stuffed”). The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 3, below.
verb
will (third-person singular simple present will, present participle willing, simple past would, no past participle)
(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall. [from 10th c.]
(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to. [from 14th c.]
(auxiliary) Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference". [from 15th c.]
(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action). [from 9th c.]
(auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation. [from 10th c.]
(now uncommon or literary, transitive) To wish, desire (something). [chiefly 9th–19th c.]
(now rare, intransitive) To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). [9th–19th c.]
(archaic) Implying will go.
Examples
One of our salesmen will visit you tomorrow.
I will pass this exam.
Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink and paper : as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thankful to thee for’t.
“I will, with your leave, relate to you, miss, the story of one of our customers.”
Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.
He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock.
I can't find my umbrella. I will have left it at home this morning.
“That will be five zloty.” I reached into my pocket and came up with some coins.
Unless she diverted on the ten minute walk home, she’ll have got home at about half past.
Boys will be boys.
But which of you hauing a seruant plowing, or feeding cattell, will say vnto him by & by when he is come from the field, Goe and sit downe to meate? And will not rather say vnto him, Make ready wherewith I may suppe, and gird thy selfe, and serue me, till I haue eaten and drunken: and afterward thou shalt eate and drinke.
As young men will, I did my best to appear suave and sophisticated.
How telling is it that many women will volunteer for temporary disablement by wearing high heeled shoes that hobble them?
So far neither side has scored a decisive victory, though each will occasionally claim one.
Will you marry me?
I’ve told him three times, but he won’t take his medicine.
Do what you will.
God willed it.
If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me.
Twelfe Night, Or what you will
And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Grant what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt.
the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe?
see God's goodwill toward men, hear how generally his grace is proposed, to him, and him, and them, each man in particular, and to all. 1 Tim. ii. 4. "God will that all men be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth."
I’ll to England.
Etimology
From Middle English wille, from Old English willa (compare verb willian), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“desire, will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja, Norwegian vilje.
noun
will (plural wills)
One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention. [from 9th c.]
The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition. [from 10th c.]
One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands. [from 9th c.]
Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent
(law) A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes. [from 14th c.]
(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish. [from 10th c.]
(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) [from 9th c.]
Examples
Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.
Most creatures have a will to live.
The episode’s unwillingness to fully commit to the pathos of the Bart-and-Laura subplot is all the more frustrating considering its laugh quota is more than filled by a rollicking B-story that finds Homer, he of the iron stomach and insatiable appetite, filing a lawsuit against The Frying Dutchman when he’s hauled out of the eatery against his will after consuming all of the restaurant’s shrimp .
Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.
Synonyms: determination, firmness, resoluteness, resolve
Thus Mill’s case for the claim that happiness is the sole human end, put more carefully, is this: ‘Whatever is desired otherwise than as a means to some end beyond itself, and ultimately to happiness, is desired as itself a part of happiness, and is not desired for itself until has become so’ . Nothing here assumed Hume’s view that every action must ultimately flow from an underived desire. That is a quite separate issue, and Mill’s view of it is closer to that of Kant or Reid than to that of Hume. He insists ‘positively and emphatically’ that the will is a different thing from desire; that a person of confirmed virtue, or any other person whose purposes are fixed, carries out his purposes without any thought of the pleasure he has in contemplating them, or expects to derive from their fulfilment. This distinction between purpose and desire is central to Mill’s conception of the will. When we develop purposes we can will against mere likings or aversions: ‘In the case of an habitual purpose, instead of willing the thing because we desire it, we often desire it only because we will it’ . Every action is caused by a motive, but not every motive is a liking or aversion: When the will is said to be determined by motives, a motive does not mean always, or solely, the anticipation of a pleasure or of a pain…. A habit of willing is commonly called a purpose; and among the causes of our volitions, and of the actions which flow from them, must be reckoned not only likings and aversions, but also purposes. The formation of purposes from desires is the evolution of will; it is also the development of character. Mill quotes Novalis: ‘a character is a completely fashioned will’ .
...surely the link could not have been with Churchill the brilliant, gallant and steadfast wartime leader who, by dint of character, will and language, turned near defeat into victory.
Synonyms: testament, last will, last will and testament
“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”
I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...].
He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Etimology
From Middle English willen, from Old English willian (“to will”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjōn (“to will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with German Low German willen, German willen. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.
verb
will (third-person singular simple present wills, present participle willing, simple past and past participle willed or (rare) would)
(transitive, intransitive) To instruct (that something be done) in one's will. [from 9th c.]
(transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document). [from 15th c.]
(transitive) To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something. [from 10th c.]
Examples
He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.
All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
They willed me say so, madam.
Send for music, / And will the cooks to use their best of cunning / To please the palate.
Related words
synonyms
(bequeath): bequeath, leave