Main Entry: ¹will

Pronunciation: \wəl, (ə)l, ^əl, ˈwil\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): past would \wəd, (ə)d, ˈwu̇d\ present singular & plural will

Etymology: Middle English (1st & 3d singular present indicative), from Old English wille (infinitive wyllan); akin to Old High German wili (3d singular present indicative) wills, Latin velle to wish, will

Date: before 12th century

transitive verb : desire, wish <call it what you will>verbal auxiliary 1 —used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions refusal <no one would take the job> <if we will all do our best> <will you please stop that racket>
2 —used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency or disposition <will get angry over nothing> <will work one day and loaf the next>
3 —used to express futurity <tomorrow morning I will wake up in this first-class hotel suite — Tennessee Williams>
4 —used to express capability or sufficiency <the back seat will hold three passengers>
5 —used to express probability and often equivalent to the simple verb <that will be the babysitter>
6 a —used to express determination, insistence, persistence, or willfulness <I have made up my mind to go and go I will> b —used to express inevitability <accidents will happen>
7 —used to express a command, exhortation, or injunction <you will do as I say, at once>intransitive verb : to have a wish or desire <whether we will or no>

usage see shall

— if you will : if you wish to call it that <a kind of preoccupation, or obsession if you will — Louis Auchincloss>