[will] vb, past would pres sing & pl will [ME (1st & 3d sing. pres. indic.), fr. OE wille (infin. wyllan); akin to OHG wili (3d sing. pres. indic.) wills, L velle to wish, will] vt (bef. 12c): desire, wish "call it what you ~" ~ verbal auxiliary 1--used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions refusal "no one would take the job" "if we ~ all do our best" "~ you please stop that racket" 2--used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency or disposition "~ get angry over nothing" "~ work one day and loaf the next" 3--used to express futurity "tomorrow morning I ~ wake up in this first-class hotel suite --Tennessee Williams" 4--used to express capability or sufficiency "the back seat ~ hold three passengers" 5--used to express probability and often equivalent to the simple verb "that ~ be the milkman"
6. a--used to express determination, insistence, persistence, or willfulness "I have made up my mind to go and go I ~" b--used to express inevitability "accidents ~ happen" 7--used to express a command, exhortation, or injunction "you ~ do as I say, at once" ~ vi: to have a wish or desire "whether we ~ 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"
[2]will n [ME, fr. OE willa will, desire; akin to OE wille] (bef. 12c) 1: desire, wish: as a: disposition, inclination "where there's a ~ there's a way" b: appetite, passion c: choice, determination
2. a: something desired; esp: a choice or determination of one having authority or power b (1) archaic: request, command (2) [fr. the phrase our will is which introduces it]: the part of a summons expressing a royal command
3: the act, process, or experience of willing: volition
4. a: mental powers manifested as wishing, choosing, desiring, or intending b: a disposition to act according to principles or ends c: the collective desire of a group "the ~ of the people"
5: the power of control over one's own actions or emotions "a man of iron ~"
6: a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death; esp: a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death -- at will : as one wishes: as or when it pleases or suits oneself [3]will vt (bef. 12c) 1 a: to order or direct by a will b: to dispose of by or as if by a will: bequeath
2. a: to determine by an act of choice b: decree, ordain "Providence ~s it" c: intend, purpose d: to cause or change by an act of will; also: to try to do so ~ vi 1: to exercise the will
2: choose