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 auxiliary1—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>