Etymograph

English

will

Will comes from Old English willan ‘to want’, from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną ‘to want’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose, wish’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-1‘to choose, wish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wḗlh₁ti1reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljaną1‘to want’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*willjan1‘to want’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150willan1‘to want’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500willen1‘to want something’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1450will1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English will
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1450, The Macro Plays:: “If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-Wiktionary, English will‘to choose, wish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wḗlh₁tiWiktionary, English willreconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljanąWiktionary, English will‘to want’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*willjanWiktionary, English will‘to want’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150willanWiktionary, English will‘to want’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500willenWiktionary, English will‘to want something’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1450willWiktionary, English will. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1450, The Macro Plays:: “If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal,…”

Linked words

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

well, volunteer, benevolent, malevolent, volition, voluptuous, wale, malevolence, 11 more

through Proto-West Germanic *willjan ‘to want’

wilt, 1 more

Another origin of will

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-‘to choose, wish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljô‘desire, will’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*willjōreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150willa
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wille
  6. Englishtodaywill

Another origin of will

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-‘to choose, wish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*willjōn‘to will’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150willian‘to will’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500willen
  5. Englishtodaywill

The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.

Today it means

verb Used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person. Compare shall.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “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-Indo-European *welh₁- / will

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