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at will

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will

2[wil] noun, verb, willed, will⋅ing.
–noun
1. the faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action; the power of control the mind has over its own actions: the freedom of the will.
2. power of choosing one's own actions: to have a strong or a weak will.
3. the act or process of using or asserting one's choice; volition: My hands are obedient to my will.
4. wish or desire: to submit against one's will.
5. purpose or determination, often hearty or stubborn determination; willfulness: to have the will to succeed.
6. the wish or purpose as carried out, or to be carried out: to work one's will.
7. disposition, whether good or ill, toward another.
8. Law.
a. a legal declaration of a person's wishes as to the disposition of his or her property or estate after death, usually written and signed by the testator and attested by witnesses.
b. the document containing such a declaration.
–verb (used with object)
9. to decide, bring about, or attempt to effect or bring about by an act of the will: He can walk if he wills it.
10. to purpose, determine on, or elect, by an act of will: If he wills success, he can find it.
11. to give or dispose of (property) by a will or testament; bequeath or devise.
12. to influence by exerting will power: She was willed to walk the tightrope by the hypnotist.
–verb (used without object)
13. to exercise the will: To will is not enough, one must do.
14. to decide or determine: Others debate, but the king wills.
15. at will,
a. at one's discretion or pleasure; as one desires: to wander at will through the countryside.
b. at one's disposal or command.

Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME will(e), OE will(a); c. D wil, G Wille, ON vili, Goth wilja; (v.) ME willen, OE willian to wish, desire, deriv. of the n.; akin to will 1


willer, noun


3. choice. 4. pleasure, disposition, inclination. 5. resolution, decision. Will, volition refer to conscious choice as to action or thought. Will denotes fixed and persistent intent or purpose: Where there's a will there's a way. Volition is the power of forming an intention or the incentive for using the will: to exercise one's volition in making a decision. 9. determine. 11. leave.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To at will
will 1   (wĭl)   
n.  
    1. The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action: championed freedom of will against a doctrine of predetermination.

    2. The act of exercising the will.

    3. Diligent purposefulness; determination: an athlete with the will to win.

    4. Self-control; self-discipline: lacked the will to overcome the addiction.

    5. A legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her possessions to be disposed of after death.

    6. A legally executed document containing this declaration.

    1. Diligent purposefulness; determination: an athlete with the will to win.

    2. Self-control; self-discipline: lacked the will to overcome the addiction.

    3. A legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her possessions to be disposed of after death.

    4. A legally executed document containing this declaration.

  1. A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority: It is the sovereign's will that the prisoner be spared.

  2. Deliberate intention or wish: Let it be known that I took this course of action against my will.

  3. Free discretion; inclination or pleasure: wandered about, guided only by will.

  4. Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition: full of good will.

    1. A legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her possessions to be disposed of after death.

    2. A legally executed document containing this declaration.

v.   willed, will·ing, wills

v.   tr.
  1. To decide on; choose.

  2. To yearn for; desire: "She makes you will your own destruction" (George Bernard Shaw).

  3. To decree, dictate, or order.

  4. To resolve with a forceful will; determine.

  5. To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will: We willed the sun to come out.

  6. To grant in a legal will; bequeath.

v.   intr.
  1. To exercise the will.

  2. To make a choice; choose.


[Middle English, from Old English willa; see wel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

will  (n.)
O.E. will, willa, from P.Gmc. *weljon (cf. O.S. willio, O.N. vili, O.Fris. willa, Du. wil, O.H.G. willio, Ger. wille, Goth. wilja "will"), related to *willan "to wish" (see will (v.)). The meaning "written document expressing a person's wishes about disposition of property after death" is first recorded c.1380.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: will
Function: transitive verb
1 : to order or direct by will <willed that his money be given to charity>
2 : to dispose of by will <willed the house to their children>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

at will

Freely, as one pleases, as in The grounds are open to the public and one can wander about at will, or With this thermostat you can adjust the room temperature at will. [1300s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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