Word: will Part of Speech: verb 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). Pronunciation: /wɪl/, [wɪɫ], [wɪo̯], [wɪʊ̯] 1. Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall. Labels: auxiliary, no-past-participle Example: Do not forget, will you? Example: Will you be doing the shopping this evening? If so, will you do mine too, please? 2. To be able to, to have the capacity to. Labels: auxiliary, no-past-participle Example: Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand. 3. Expressing a present tense or perfect tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference". Labels: auxiliary, no-past-participle Example: He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o'clock. Example: I can't find my umbrella. I will've left it at home this morning. 4. To habitually do (a given action). Labels: auxiliary, no-past-participle Example: Boys will be boys. Example: People will talk. 5. To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation. Labels: auxiliary, no-past-participle Example: Will you marry me? Example: What will you drink? 6. To wish, desire (something). Labels: literary, no-past-participle, transitive, uncommon Example: Do what you will. Example: God willed it. 7. To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). Labels: archaic, intransitive, no-past-participle Example: Consider, if you will, the possibility that the sherry glasses were misplaced accidentally. Example: the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe? 8. Implying will go. Labels: archaic, no-past-participle Example: I’ll to England.