Etymograph

English

self-will

Self-will comes from Middle English self-wil, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *selbawiljô.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selbawiljô1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*selbawilljō1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sylfwill1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500self-wil1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2000self-will1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English self-will
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2000, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet: “This Marian principle indicates that women ought to divest…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selbawiljôWiktionary, English self-willreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*selbawilljōWiktionary, English self-willreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sylfwillWiktionary, English self-will
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500self-wilWiktionary, English self-will
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2000self-willWiktionary, English self-will. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2000, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet: “This Marian principle indicates that women ought to divest…”

Formed from self- + will

Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-

Proto-Germanic *selbaz ‘self’

Proto-Germanic *selba-

English self-

Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose, wish’

…

Proto-Germanic *wiljaną ‘to want’

Proto-West Germanic *willjan ‘to want’

Old English willan ‘to want’

Middle English willen ‘to want something’

English will

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *selbawiljô

Today it means

noun The quality of being willful and ignoring opposition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “self-will”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *selbawiljô / self-will

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