will meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

will

verbalso spelled Will

UK, US [wɪɫ] · /wɪl/

Etymology

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”). Cognates Cognate with Yola ill, weel, well, will, woul, wull (“will”), North Frisian wale, wel (“to want”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian wolle (“to want”), Alemannic German and Central Franconian welle (“to want”), Cimbrian béllan, bölln (“to want”), Dutch willen (“to want”), German wollen (“to want”), Low German wüllen (“to want; will”), Luxembourgish wëllen (“to want”), Yiddish וועלן (veln, “to want”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ville (“to want”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish vilja (“to want”), Jamtish vili (“to want; wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, vilje (“want; will”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wiljan, “to want”); also Latin velle (“wish”, verb), voleō, volo (“to please, to wish; to want”), French vouloir (“to want”), Italian volere (“to want”), Irish fleá, fleadh (“feast”), Scottish Gaelic fleadh (“feast”), Welsh gwledd (“banquet, feast”), Lithuanian viltis (“to hope; to rely; to expect”), Czech velet (“to command”), volit (“to choose; to elect”), Polish woleć (“to prefer”), Russian во́ля (vólja, “freedom”), во́льный (vólʹnyj, “free”), веле́ть (velétʹ, “to command, to enjoin, to order”), Ukrainian воля (volja, “freedom, liberty, will”), вільний (vilʹnyj, “free”), веліти (velity, “to will, to order, to command”), воліти (volity, “to will, to prefer”), Old Armenian գեղձ (gełj, “desire, wish”), Sanskrit वृणीते (vṛṇīte), वृणोति (vṛṇoti, “to choose”). The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 3, below. (indicating future action): Compare typologically Bulgarian ще (šte), Macedonian ќе (ḱe), Serbo-Croatian хтети (< Proto-Slavic *xotěti).

8 senses

1Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an…
2To be able to, to have the capacity to.
3Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some…
4To habitually do (a given action).
5To choose or agree to (do something); used to express…
6To wish, desire (something).
7To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).
8Implying will go.

No past participle Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall.

Do not forget, will you?
Will you be doing the shopping this evening? If so, will you do mine too, please?

4 more examples

Won't you have another glass of wine? — No, I think I’ll go to bed.
Can somebody lend me a hand? — I will.
I'm going to quit smoking. I really will!
The President will arrive at 10.00 — Will she be wanting lunch?

No past participle To be able to, to have the capacity to.

Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.

No past participle Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".

He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock.
I can't find my umbrella. I will've left it at home this morning.

3 more examples

I’ll kill anybody who touches my car.
“That will be five zloty.” I reached into my pocket and came up with some coins.2007, Edward Jesko, The Polish:
Unless she diverted on the ten minute walk home, she’ll have got home at about half past.2012, Penny Freedman, All The Daughters:

No past participle To habitually do (a given action).

Boys will be boys.
People will talk.

4 more examples

I will fall in love with the wrong women time and again.
The shapes of clouds will often remind us of animals.
Most nights I'll read a little before going to sleep.
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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 17:7–8:

No past participle To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation.

Will you marry me?
What will you drink?

1 more example

I’ve told him three times, but he won’t take his medicine.

Literary, No past participle, Uncommon To wish, desire (something).

Do what you will.
God willed it.

4 more examples

If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me.c. 1450, The Macro Plays:
Twelfe Night, Or what you will (original spelling)1601, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, or What You Will:
And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 8:2:
Grant what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt.1944, St. Augustine, translated by FJ Sheed, Confessions:

Archaic, No past participle To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

Consider, if you will, the possibility that the sherry glasses were misplaced accidentally.
the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe?1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew:

1 more example

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."1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:

Archaic, No past participle Implying will go.

I’ll to England.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

Derived terms: 50 terms
accidents will happen, accidents will happen in the best regulated families, a drowning man will clutch at a straw, a hit dog will holler, boys will be boys, build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door, butter will not melt in someone's mouth, by their fruits you will know them, cooler heads will prevail, cool heads will prevail, do what you will, even a worm will turn, faith will move mountains, five will get you ten, give someone an inch and someone will take a mile, heads will roll, if you lie with dogs you will get fleas, if you will, in this essay I will, I will yeah, kids will be kids, longways for as many as will, murder will out, one will know the reason why, only time will tell, saner heads will prevail, spare the rod and you will spoil the child, take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves, ten will get you twenty, that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee, that will do, the poor we will always have with us, there are none so blind as those who will not see, the revolution will not be televised, the sky will fall on your head, the terrorists will have won, throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick, time alone will tell, time will tell, too much pudding will choke a dog, truth will out, what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh, when the cat's away the mice will play, who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl, will call, will do, will the real someone please stand up, will-they-won't-they, will you marry me, you will own nothing and be happy

Will

noun

Etymology Clipping of William or, less often, other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard.

American football, Ball games, Football, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A weak-side linebacker.

Will linebacker drops to turn-in, QB dropping dumps the ball off to HB.1997, F Henderson, M Olson, Football's West Coast Offense, page 7:
Our Will linebacker, because he is away from the formation or to the split end, should be a great pursuit man and pass defender. Will covers the back side hook zone on the weak side.2000, American Football Coaches Association, Defensive Football Strategies, page 25:

Related terms: Sam

will

noun

Etymology 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.

7 senses

1One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be…
2The act of choosing to do something; a person’s…
3One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
4Firmness of purpose, fixity of intent
5A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the…
6That which is desired; one's wish.
7Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.

Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.

Most creatures have a will to live.
The father chose the name and could change it later at his will.1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xiii:

1 more example

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 (plus two plastic lobsters).2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:

One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.

Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.
In the first place, although many people wanted nationalisation and it became the will of Parliament, there were many other people who did not want it, have never willingly accepted it, and never will.1958 January 23, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 12:

Firmness of purpose, fixity of intent

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’ (1861a: 237). 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. (1861a: 238) 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’ (1861a: 238). 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. (1843: 842) 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’ (1843: 843).1998, John Skorupski,, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Mill, John Stuart (1806–73)
...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.2015, Dr. Harlan K. Ullman, Huffington Post 31 May 2015., "Winston Spencer Ghani"

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.

“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?”1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled!:

Archaic That which is desired; one's wish.

I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...].1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

Archaic Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)

He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

will

verb

Etymology 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.

To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.

To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).

He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.

To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.

All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
Her parents were watching her run, willing her on.

3 more examples

They willed me say so, madam.1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
Send for music, / And will the cooks to use their best of cunning / To please the palate.c. 1612–1615?, John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont, revised by Philip Massinger, “Loves Cure or, The Martial Maid”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii:
The white feminist and white gay movement have willed themselves ignorant of black feminist and black gay experiences.1986, Daniel Garrett, “Creating Ourselves: An Open Letter”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 102:

Synonyms: bequeath, leave
Derived terms: will on, will the good of another
Related terms: bequeath, going to, modal verb, nimblewill, testament, volition, voluntary, will-fire, will o' the wisp

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for will and Will.