- will (v.)
- O.E. *willan, wyllan "to wish, desire, want" (past tense wolde), from P.Gmc. *welljan (cf. O.S. willian, O.N. vilja, O.Fris. willa, Du. willen, O.H.G. wellan, Ger. wollen, Goth. wiljan "to will, wish, desire," Goth. waljan "to choose"), from PIE *wel-/*wol- "be pleasing" (cf. Skt. vrnoti "chooses, prefers," varyah "to be chosen, eligible, excellent," varanam "choosing;" Avestan verenav- "to wish, will, choose;" Gk. elpis "hope;" L. volo, velle "to wish, will, desire;" O.C.S. voljo, voliti "to will," veljo, veleti "to command;" Lith. velyti "to wish, favor," pa-vel-mi "I will," viliuos "I hope;" Welsh gwell "better"). Cf. also O.E. wel "well," lit. "according to one's wish;" wela "well-being, riches." The use as a future auxiliary was already developing in O.E. The implication of intention or volition distinguishes it from shall, which expresses or implies obligation or necessity. Contracted forms, especially after pronouns, began to appear 16c., as in sheele for "she will." The form with an apostrophe is from 17c.
- will (n.)
- O.E. will, willa, from P.Gmc. *weljon (cf. O.S. willio, O.N. vili, O.Fris. willa, Du. wil, O.H.G. willio, Ger. wille, Goth. wilja "will"), related to *willan "to wish" (see will (v.)). The meaning "written document expressing a person's wishes about disposition of property after death" is first recorded c.1380.
- will-o'-the-wisp
- 1661, earlier Will with the wisp (1608), from the masc. proper name Will + wisp "bundle of hay or straw used as a torch."
- willful
- c.1200, "strong-willed," from will (n.) + full. Willfully is late O.E. wilfullice "of one's own free will, voluntarily;" bad sense of "on purpose" is attested from late 14c.
- William
- masc. proper name, from O.N.Fr. Willaume, Norman form of Fr. Guillaume, of Gmc. origin (cf. O.H.G. Willahelm), from willio "will" + helma "helmet." After the Conquest, the most popular given name in England until supplanted by John.
- willies
- 1896, "spell of nervousness," perhaps from the woollies, a dialectal term for "nervous uneasiness," probably in reference to the itchiness of wool garments.
- willing
- O.E. willendliche; see will (v.).
- willow
- O.E. welig, from P.Gmc. *walg- (cf. O.S. wilgia, M.Du. wilghe, Du. wilg), probably from PIE *wel- "to turn, roll," with derivatives referring to curved, enclosing objects. The change in form to -ow (14c.) paralleled that of bellow and fellow. The more typical Gmc. word for the tree is represented by withy. Willowy "flexible and graceful" is attested from 1791.
- willy-nilly
- 1608, contraction of will I, nill I, or will he, nill he, or will ye, nill ye, lit. "with or without the will of the person concerned." The nill is from O.E. nyllan, from ne "no" (see no) + *willan "will" (v.). Latin expressed a similar idea in nolens volens.
- self-willed
- c.1470, from self + willed (see will).
- swill (v.)
- O.E. swilian, swillan "to wash, gargle," with no certain cognates, but probably from P.Gmc. *sweljanan, related to the root of swallow (v.). Meaning "drink greedily" is from c.1530; the noun sense of "liquid kitchen refuse fed to pigs" is 1553, from the verb.
- twill
- "cloth woven in parallel diagonal lines," 1329, Scottish and northern English variant of M.E. twile, from O.E. twili "woven with double thread, twilled," formed on model of L. bilix "with a double thread" (with O.E. twi- substituted for cognate L. bi-), from L. licium "thread," of uncertain origin.
- unwilling
- O.E. unwillende, from un- (1) "not" + willing. Re-formed 16c.
- whippoorwill
- 1709, imitative of its cry.