Will

n. [A-S. & O. Fries. willa, wille, O. Sax. willeo, willio, willo, D. wil, Icel. vili, vil, Dan. vilje, Sw. vilja, vilje, Goth. vilja, O. H. Ger. willio, willo, N. H. Ger. wille, Lith. valė, Slav. vola; W. gwyl, gwyllys, Gael. cill, Ir. ail; Gr. βουλή. See the verb.]

1Sense 1. The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.

It is necessary to form a distinct notion of what is meant by the word “volition” in order to understand the import of the word will, for this last word expresses the power of mind of which “volition” is the act. D. Stewart.

Will is an ambiguous word, being sometimes put for the faculty of willing; sometimes for the act of that faculty, besides [having] other meanings. But “volition” always signifies the act of willing, and nothing else. Reid.

Appetite is the will’s solicitor, and the will is appetite’s controller; what we covet according to the one, by the other we often reject. Hooker.

2Sense 2. The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.

The word will, however, is not always used in this its proper acceptation, but is frequently substituted for “volition,” as when I say that my hand moves in obedience to my will. D. Stewart.

3Sense 3. The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.

Thy will be done. Matt. vi. 10.

Our prayers should be according to the will of God. Law.

4Sense 4. Strong wish or inclination.

☞ “Inclination is another word with which will is frequently confounded. Thus, when the apothecary says, in Romeo and Juliet, —

My poverty, but not my will, consents; Take this and drink it off; the work is done, —

the word will is plainly used as synonymous with inclination; not in the strict logical sense, as the immediate antecedent of action. It is with the same latitude that the word is used in common conversation, when we speak of doing a thing which duty prescribes, against one’s own will; or when we speak of doing a thing willingly or unwillingly.” D. Stewart.

5Sense 5. That which is strongly wished or desired.

What is your will? That he have his. Shak.

The wedding guest stood still And listened like a three years’ child; The mariner hath his will. Coleridge.

6Sense 6. Arbitrary disposal; power to control or determine. [Obs. or rare.]

Deliver me not over to the will of mine enemies. Ps. xxvii. 12.

7Sense 7. (Law.) The legal declaration of a person’s mind, as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the written instrument, legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise.

☞ Wills are written, or nuncupative, that is, oral.

At will (Law), at pleasure. To hold an estate at the will of another, is to enjoy the possession at his pleasure, and be liable to be ousted at any time by the lessor or proprietor. An estate at will is at the will of both parties. — Good will. (a.) Favor; kindness. (b.) Right intention. Phil. i. 15. (Law.) See GOOD-WILL. — Ill will, enmity; unfriendliness. It expresses less than malice. — To have one’s will, to obtain what is desired. — Will-with-a-wisp, a luminous appearance sometimes seen in the air over moist ground, supposed to proceed from hydrogen gas; Jack-with-a-lantern; ignis-fatuus. — Will-worship, that kind of worship which is performed as a mere act of the will, and not spontaneously; formal worship. [Obs.] “That the Lord’s day is an ordinary working day, it being will-worship and superstition to make it a Sabbath by virtue of the fourth commandment.” Fuller. — Will-worshiper, one who offers will-worship. [Obs.]

v. t. [imp. & p. p. WILLED; p. pr. & vb. n. WILLING.] [A-S. willan, willian, wilnian, O. Sax. willian, wellean, O. Fries. willa, wella, D. & L. Ger. willen, Goth. viljan, Icel. & Sw. vilja, Dan. ville, O. H. Ger. wellan, willeon, M. H. Ger. wellen, N. H. Ger. wollen, allied to Lat. velle, volo, Gr. βούλομαι.] This verb has both an irregular and regular form.

1Sense 1. Irregular. [I will, thou wilt, he will; imp. would; p. p. wanting.] (a.) To wish; to desire; to incline to have. “Caleb said to her, What wilt thou?” Judg. i. 14. “They would none of my counsel.” Prov. i. 30. (b.) As an auxiliary, used to denote futurity dependent on the subject of the verb. Thus, in the first person, “I will” denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when “will” is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go, if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose, is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, “You will go,” or “He will go,” describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.

☞ As in shall (which see), the second and third persons may be virtually converted into the first, either by question or indirect statement, so as to receive the meaning which belongs to will in that person; thus, “Will you go?” (answer, “I will go”) asks assent, requests, &c.; while “Will he go?” simply inquires concerning futurity; thus, also, “He says or thinks he will go,” “You say or think you will go,” both signify willingness or consent.

☞ In Ireland, Scotland, and the United States, especially in the southern and western portions of the United States, shall and will, should and would, are often misused, as in the following examples:—

I am able to devote as much time and attention to other subjects as I will [shall] be under the necessity of doing next winter. Chalmers.

A countryman, telling us what he had seen, remarked that if the conflagration went on, as it was doing, we would [should] have, as our next season’s employment, the Old Town of Edinburgh to rebuild. H. Miller.

I feel assured that I will [shall] not have the misfortune to find conflicting views held by one so enlightened as your excellency. J. Y. Mason.

He ought to have known that we would [should] be ruined. Brace.

I would [should] in vain attempt, adequately, to express the emotions with which I received the testimonials of confidence and regard which you have recently addressed to me. Jefferson Davis.

2Sense 2. Regular. [I will, thou willest, he wills; imp. & p. p. willed.] (a.) To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree. “Two things he [God] willeth—that we should be good, and that we should be happy.” Barrow. “By all law and reason, that which the Parliament will not, is no more established in this kingdom.” Milton. “What she wills to do or say.” Milton. (b.) To express or make known a volition of; to enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order. [Obs. or rare.]

They willed me to say so, madam. Shak.

Send for music, And will the cooks to use their best of cunning To please the palate. Beau. & Fl.

As you go, will the lord mayor And some aldermen of his brethren . . . To attend our further pleasure presently. J. Webster.

(c.) To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one’s estate to a child.

☞ Would as the preterit of will, is chiefly employed in conditional, subjunctive, or optative senses; as, he would go, if he could; he could go, if he would; he said that he would go; I would fain go, but can not; I would that I were young again; and other like phrases. In the last use, the first personal pronoun is often omitted; as, would that he were here; would to Heaven that it were so; and, omitting the to in such an adjuration, “Would God I had died for thee.” Would is used for both present and future time, in conditional propositions, and would have for past time; as, he would go now, if he were ready; if it should rain, he would not go; he would have gone, had he been able. Would not, as also will not, signifies refusal. “He was angry, and would not go in.” Luke xv. 28. Would is never a past participle.