will

See also: Will

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#WILLCategory:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁-#WILL

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#WILL willen, wullen, wollen, from Old EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Old English#WILL willan (“to want”), from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#WILL *willjan, from Proto-GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Germanic#WILL *wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#WILL *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”).

(indicating future action): Compare typologically Bulgarian ще (šte), Macedonian ќе (ḱe), Serbo-Croatian хтети (< Proto-Slavic *xotěti).

Alternative forms

Verb

will (third-person singular simple present will, present participle willing, simple past would, no past participle)Category:English lemmas#WILLCategory:English verbs#WILLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. (auxiliaryCategory:English auxiliary verbs#WILL) 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.]
    Will you be doing the shopping this evening? If so, will you do mine too, please?Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    Won't you have another glass of wine? — No, I think I’ll go to bed.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    Can somebody lend me a hand? — I will.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    I'm going to quit smoking. I really will!Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    The President will arrive at 10.00 — Will she be wanting lunch?Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    If you will come this way, I’ll show you your bedroom.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    I said I’d help, and help I will.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    If your sis won’t be here on Thu, we’d better cancel the booking. — I will pray that she arrives on time.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    That'll be £69.99, please. Last for ever this pair of jeans sure will.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    This breakthrough will mean that we spend less on the electricity bill.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    We'll finish ours sooner than you (do/will).Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    Dad, will you take me to the park? Will you, please? — Will you be quiet! I'm on the phone.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    I'll hold that for you, shall I?Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    The baby will surely have green eyes, because both parents have.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  2. (auxiliaryCategory:English auxiliary verbs#WILL) To be able to, to have the capacity to. [from 14th c.]
    Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  3. (auxiliaryCategory:English auxiliary verbs#WILL) Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference". [from 15th c.]
    He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    I can't find my umbrella. I will've left it at home this morning.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    I’ll kill anybody who touches my car.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  4. (auxiliaryCategory:English auxiliary verbs#WILL) To habitually do (a given action). [from 9th c.]
    I will fall in love with the wrong women time and again.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    The shapes of clouds will often remind us of animals.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  5. (auxiliaryCategory:English auxiliary verbs#WILL) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation. [from 10th c.]
    I’ve told him three times, but he won’t take his medicine.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  6. (now uncommonCategory:English terms with uncommon senses#WILL or literaryCategory:English literary terms#WILL, transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#WILL) To wish, desire (something). [chiefly 9th–19th c.]
  7. (now rareCategory:English terms with rare senses#WILL, intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#WILL) To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). [9th–19th c.]
    Consider, if you will, the possibility that the sherry glasses were misplaced accidentally.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  8. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#WILL) Implying will go.
Usage notes
  • Commonly elided to the clitic 'll, and would also commonly elided to 'd. These are also short for shall and should (among other things).
  • See also the usage notes at shall.
    • Historically, will is used as a future tense auxiliary only with second and third person subjects, while shall is used with the first person. The intent sense, on the other hand, reverses this, with will being used with the first person, and shall with the second and third. This distinction may still be upheld by some speakers, especially in the UK, or in legal documents.
    • Today, the person distinction is mostly lost, usually with both will and shall being used with interchangeable meaning. In particular, shall is used as a rarer or more archaic synonym of will, leaving the distinction between future and intent up to context or stress.
  • Morphologically, the present tense is will and the past tense is would. In Early Modern English there was also a past participle would, but this is now obsolete.
    Malory: ‘Many tymes he myghte haue had her and he had wold’. John Done: ‘If hee had would, hee might easily [...] occupied the Monarchy.’
  • Formerly, go could be elided after will along with an adverb expressing destination, e.g. "I'll to her lodgings" (Marlowe). Compare the omission of gehen in similar situations in modern German (i.e. with an auxiliary and a destination adverb), e.g. "Ich muss in die Schule", lit. "I must in(to) the school".
  • The present participle willing does not apply to the uses of will as an auxiliary verb (those senses have no participles).
  • The form of will with the enclitic -n't (or the present tense negative form of will in the analysis in which -n't is an inflectional suffix) is won't (“will not”) (rather than the form that would be expected based on a regular application of -n't, willn't), while the corresponding form of the past tense would is wouldn't.
Conjugation
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#WILLCategory:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁-#WILL

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#WILL wille, from Old EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Old English#WILL willa (compare verb willian), from Proto-GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Germanic#WILL *wiljô (“desire, will”), from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#WILL *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja, Norwegian vilje.

Alternative forms

Noun

will (plural wills)Category:English lemmas#WILLCategory:English nouns#WILLCategory:English countable nouns#WILLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention. [from 9th c.]
    Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  2. The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition. [from 10th c.]
    Most creatures have a will to live.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    • 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xiii:
      The father chose the name and could change it later at his will.
      Category:English terms with quotations#WILL
    • 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:
      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).
      Category:English terms with quotations#WILL
  3. One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands. [from 9th c.]
    Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
    • 1958 January, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 12:
      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.
      Category:English terms with quotations#WILL
  4. Firmness of purpose, fixity of intent
    Synonyms: determination, firmness, resoluteness, resolve
    • 1998, John Skorupski, , Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Mill, John Stuart (1806–73):
      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).
      Category:English terms with quotations#WILL
    • 2015, Dr. Harlan K. Ullman, Huffington Post 31 May 2015., "Winston Spencer Ghani":
      ...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.
      Category:English terms with quotations#WILL
  5. (lawCategory:en:Law#WILL) 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.]
    Synonyms: testament, last will, last will and testament
    • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled!‎:
      “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?”
      Category:English terms with quotations#WILL
  6. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#WILL) That which is desired; one's wish. [from 10th c.]
  7. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#WILL) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) [from 9th c.]
    He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
Derived terms
Collocations

(conscious intent or volition):

Descendants
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 3

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#WILL willen, from Old EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Old English#WILL willian (“to will”), from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic#WILLCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#WILL *willjōn (“to will”), from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#WILL *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)Category:English lemmas#WILLCategory:English verbs#WILLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#WILL, intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#WILL) To instruct (that something be done) in one's will. [from 9th c.]
  2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#WILL) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document). [from 15th c.]
    He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
  4. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#WILL) 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.]
    All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
    Category:English terms with usage examples#WILL
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Category:English defective verbs#WILLCategory:English irregular verbs#WILLCategory:English modal verbs#WILL Category:en:Death#WILLCategory:en:Property law#WILL

Cahuilla

Etymology

From Proto-Uto-AztecanCategory:Cahuilla terms inherited from Proto-Uto-Aztecan#WILLCategory:Cahuilla terms derived from Proto-Uto-Aztecan#WILL *wip.

Noun

wíllCategory:Cahuilla lemmas#WILLCategory:Cahuilla nouns#WILLCategory:Cahuilla entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. fat, grease
Category:chl:Foods#WILLCategory:chl:Materials#WILL

German

Pronunciation

Verb

willCategory:German non-lemma forms#WILLCategory:German verb forms#WILLCategory:German entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. first/third-person singular present of wollen

Middle English

Noun

willCategory:Middle English alternative forms#WILLCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. (Late Middle EnglishCategory:Late Middle English#WILL, IrelandCategory:Irish Middle English#WILL) alternative form of welle

Old English

Noun

will mCategory:Old English lemmas#WILLCategory:Old English nouns#WILLCategory:Old English entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Old English masculine nouns#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. alternative form of wiell

Polish

Pronunciation

Noun

will fCategory:Polish non-lemma forms#WILLCategory:Polish noun forms#WILLCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. genitive plural of willa

Yola

Verb

willCategory:Yola lemmas#WILLCategory:Yola verbs#WILLCategory:Yola entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. alternative form of woul (“will”)

Noun

willCategory:Yola lemmas#WILLCategory:Yola nouns#WILLCategory:Yola entries with incorrect language header#WILLCategory:Pages with entries#WILLCategory:Pages with 7 entries#WILL

  1. alternative form of woul (“will”)
    • 1867, “ABOUT AN OLD SOW GOING TO BE KILLED”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 106:
      Ich aam goan maake mee will.
      I am going to make my will.
      Category:Yola terms with quotations#WILL

References

  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 59
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