wilful 
mands, or instructions ; obstinate ; stubborn ; 
refractory; wayward; inflexible: as, a wilful 
man; a irilful horse. 
Like a icU/tU youth, 
That which I owe is lost. 
Shak., SI. of v., i. 1. 146. 
A ipHfu' man never wanted woe. 
Battle 0/ Penlland Hilh (Child's Ballads, VII. 242). 
Wilful flre-ralslng. Sanieasar»o»i. [Scotch. l=S3fn. 3. 
Untoward, Contrary, etc. (see wayward), self-willed, mul- 
ish, intractable, headstrong, unruly, heady. 
wilifulheadt (wil'tul-lied), n. [ME. wilfulhed; 
< wilful + -head.'\ Wilfulness ; perverse obsti- 
nacy. 
And nat be Ij-k tiraunts of Lumbardye, 
That usen imlfxdhed and tirannye. 
Chaucer, Good Women (Ist version), 1. 355. 
wilfuUingt, ". [_< iiilfiil + -iiig^.'] A wilful act. 
[Rare.] 
Great King, no more bay with thy vrU/ullingg 
His wrath's dread Torrent. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii.. The Lawe. 
wilfully, willfully (wil'ful-i), adv. [< ME. 
wilfullij, u-ilfiilli, icijlfullji, wilfulliche; < wilful + 
-ly-.'\ If. Of free will or choice; willingly; 
voluntarily; gladly; readily. 
Fede ye the flok of God that is among you, and purvey 
ye, not as constreyned, but wU^fulli. Wycliif, 1 Pet. v. 2. 
Be noujte abasshed to bydde and to be nedy ; 
Syth he that wroiigte al the worlde was wUf-ulllch nedy. 
Piers Plowman (B), xx. 48. 
Trowe ye that whyles I may preche. 
And winne gold and silver for I teche. 
That I wol lyve in povert wilfxdly. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Pardoner's Tale, I. 155. 
They wilfully themselves exile from light. 
Shak., M. W. D., iii. 2. 386. 
2. By design; with set purpose ; intentionally; 
especially, in a wilful manner; as following 
one's own will; selfishly; perversely; obsti- 
nately; stubbornly. 
For he that winketh whan he sholde see, 
Al tvilfuUy, God lat him never tliee. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, I. 612. 
The mother, . . . being determinately, lest I should say 
of a great lady wil/ully, bent to marry her to Demagoras, 
tried all ways. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. 
Surely of such desperat persons as will mtt/ully followe 
the course of theyr owne follye there is noe compassion 
to be had. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
If we sin wil/ully after that we have received the know- 
ledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for 
sins. Heb. x. 26. 
Religion is a matter of our freest choice; and if men 
will obstinately and wilfully set themselves again.st it, 
there is no remedy. Tillotson. 
3. In law, wilfulbj is sometimes interpreted to 
mean — (a) by an act or an omission done of 
purpose, with intent to bring about a certain 
result; or (b) with implication of evil intent 
or legal malice, or with absence of reasonable 
ground for believing the act in question to be 
lawful. 
wilfulness, willfulness (wil'fiil-nes), n. [<ME. 
wilfulnesse; < ivilful + -ne.'is.'] 1. The charac- 
ter of being wilful ; determination to have one's 
own way; self-will; obstinacy; stubbornness; 
perverseness. 
Falshede is soo ful of cursidnesse 
that her worship shalle neuere haue enterprise 
where it Reigneth and bathe the wilfulnesse. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 71. 
Men of business, absorbed in their object, which calls 
out darins, energy ^resolution, and force, acquire often a 
wilfulness of temper. J. F. Clarke, Self-Culture, p. 292. 
2. Intention; the character of being done by 
design. 
The deliberateness and wilfulness, or as we prefer to call 
it the intention, which constitutes the crime of nuirder. 
Mozley and Whitely. 
Wilily (wi'li-li), adv. [< tcily + -ly'^.'] In a wily 
manner; by stratagem; insidiously; craftily. 
They did work wilily. Josh. ix. 4. 
wiliness (vn'li-nes), H. The state or character 
of V)eing wily ; cunning; guile. 
wilk (wilk), II. A dialectal form of whelk. 
Willi (wil), r. Pres. 1 leill, 2 wilt, 3 will, pi. tmll; 
imperf. ] u-ouhl, 2 wouldest or wouldst, 3 would, 
pi. would (obs. i)p. would, wold). M'iin has no 
imperatives and no infinitive. [<ME.jcj»e)( (pres. 
ind. 1st and :kl jters. wiUc, wile, ictille, icule, 
icolle, icolc, wol,woll (also eontr. nlle); 2d pers. 
wilt,wult, wolt; pl.tnlletli, wuUcth,wollHh; pret. 
Ist and 3d pers. wolde ( > E. tvould), widdc, witldc. 
wald (> Sc. wad), 2d pers. woldest, woldcs, pi. 
woldcn, woldc, wiilde, woldc, pp. wold; < AS. wil- 
lan. wi/llan (pres. ind. 1st and :id jiers. tvilr; wi/lr, 
wilte, wylle, 2d pers. wilt, pi. willoth, wi/ltath. 
pret. 1st and 3d pers. wolde, 2d pers. wolde.st, pi. 
woldoii, ppr. willcnde) = OS. williau, wellian = 
OFries. willa, leella = D. willen = MLG. LG. 
6926 
willen = OHG. wellan, wollnn, MHG. u-ellen, 
wollen, G. wollen = Icel. viljn = Svv. vilj/i =Dan. 
ville = Goth, tciljan (pret. wilda) = OBulg. voliti, 
will, relieti, command, = Russ. velietl, command, 
etc., = Lith. woliti, will, = L. velle (pres. ind. 
volo), wish. Prob. not connected, as usually 
asserted, with Gr. jSoi'/eafiai, will, wish, or with 
Skt. rar, choose, select, prefer. From the same 
source are ult. E. wilP, wale^, wibi, weW^, weal^, 
wild^, wilful, etc. From the L. verb are ult. E. 
volition, voluntary, volunteer, volunty, voluptuary, 
etc., nolens volens, etc.] A. As an independent 
verb. I. trans. To wish; desire; want; be will- 
ing to have (a certain thing done) : now chiefly 
used in the subjunctive (optative) preterit form 
would governing a clause : as, I would that the 
day were at hand. When in tlie first person the 
subject is frequently omitted : as, toould that ye 
had listened to us! 
Wot sche 3it my sone hire wedde & to wife haue ? 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4203. 
"The toure vp the toft," quod she, "treuthe is there-inne, 
And wolde that ge wrougte as his worde techeth." 
Piers Plowman (B), i. 13. 
I wol him noght thogh thou were deed tomorwe. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 307. 
And when thei were come to Meilyn, he thanked hem 
of that thei hadde seide, and that wolde hym so nioche 
gode. Merlin (E. E. T. ».\ i. 84. 
Here I wo\Ud not More to flit from his literal plain sense. 
Tyndale, Ans. to Sir T. More (Parker Soc), p. 252. 
She moved him to ask of her father a field ; and she light- 
ed from off her ass ; and i'aleb said unto her: What wUt 
thou? Judges!. 14. 
Is this thy vengeance, holy Venus, thine, 
Because I woidd not one of thine own doves. 
Not ev'n a rose, were offer'd to thee'^ 
Tennyson, Lucretius. 
Would in optative expressions is often followed by a 
dative, with or without to, noting the person or power by 
whom the wish may be fulfilled: hence the phrases wouW 
(to) God, would ifo) heaven, etc. 
Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my 
son ! 2 Sam. iviii. 33. 
I am not mad : I woidd to heaven I were ! 
For then 'tis like I should forget myself. 
Shak., K. .lohn, iii. 4. 48. 
II. intrans. To have a wish or desire; be 
willing. 
In a simile, as Eue 
Was, whanne god wolde out of the wye y-drawe. 
Piers Ploivnian (C), xix. 230. 
The fomy brydel with the bit of gold 
Governeth he, right as himself hath wold. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 1209. 
All that falsen the kinges money or clippen it. also all 
that falsen or vse false measures, . . . wetyngly other 
than the lawe of the lord ivoll, etc. 
J. Myrc, Instructions for Parish Priests (E. E. T. S.), 1. 714. 
They cryed to us to doe no more : all should be as we 
woidd. Quoted in Capl. John Smith's Works, I. 191. 
B. As an auxiliary, followed by an infinitive 
without to. 1. To wish, want, like, or agree 
(to do, etc.); to be (am, is, are, was, etc.) will- 
ing (to do, etc.): noting desire, preference, 
consent, or, negatively, refusal. 
But neuer man that place ne stede went 
That sogerne ivold ther for thyng any. 
Horn, of Partenay (E. E. T. S.X 1. 5804. 
(Juod Conscience, "thou tlemed us from thee ; 
Thou woldisl not oure loore leere." 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 76. 
That day that a man would have another's landes or his 
goodes, that day he would have his life also if he could. 
Darrell Papers, 1583 (II. Hall, Society in Elizabethan Age, 
(App. ii.). 
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 
John V. 40. 
Oh, sir, the multitude, that seldom know any thing but 
their own opinions, speak that they tvould have. 
Beau, and Fl., Philaster, i. 1. 
Will you permit the orphan — nephew to whom you 
have been a father-- to offer you a trifle |a ring]'; 
Scott, Antiquary, xxx. 
2. To be (am, is, are, etc.) determined (to do, 
etc.): said when one insists on or persists in 
being or doing something; hence, must, as a 
matter of will or pertinacity; do (emphatic 
auxiliary) from choice, wilfulness, determina- 
tion, or persistence. 
Alas, the general might have pardon'd follies I 
Soldiei's will talk sometimes. 
Fletcher, Valentinian, iv. ]. 
Fate's such a shrewish thing. 
She will be mistris. Chapman, Iliad, vi. 498. 
Some, not contented to haue them [Saxons] a people of 
German race, toil needs bring them from elsewhere. 
Verstega7i, Rest, of Decayed Intelligence (ed. 1628), p. 2.'.. 
There stand, if thou xrilt stand. Milton, P. E., iv. 551. 
If you will fling yourself under the wheels. Juggernaut 
will go over you, depend upon it. 
Thackeray, Book of Snr)bs, iii. 
Cholera, scurvy, and fever, the wound that ivould not be 
heal'd. Tennyson, Defence of Lucknow. 
wiU 
3. To make (it) a habit or practice (to do, 
etc.); be (am, is, are, etc.) accustomed (to do, 
etc); do usually: noting frequent or custom- 
ary action. 
Joves halt it greet humblesse 
And vertu eek, that thou wolt make 
A nyght ful ofte thyn lieed to ake. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 631. 
Whan he had souped at home in his house, he wolde call 
before hym all his seruauntes. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Govemour, iiL 29. 
I remember the hot summer Sunday afternoons, when 
the pavemetit would be red-hot, and the dust, and bits of 
straw, and scraps of paper, would blow fitfully about with 
every little putt of air. 
E. H. Yates, KecoUections and Experiences, I. vii. 
4. To be (am, is, are, etc.) sure (to do, etc.); 
do undoubtedly, inevitably, or of necessity; 
ought or have (to do, etc.); must: used in in- 
controvertible or general statements, and often, 
especially in provincial use, forming a verb- 
phrase signifying no more than the simple verb : 
as, I'm thinking this will be (that is, this is) your 
daughter. 
I am aferd there uylle be sumthyng amys. 
Coventry Myitteries (ed. Ualliwell), p. 395. 
Sixe comoun cubites, that wU be nyne foot long. 
Trevim, tr. of Higden's Polychronicon (ed. BabingtonX 
[II. 235. 
That wHl be unjust to man, taiil be saciilegious to God. 
Milton, Elkonoklastes, zL 
He was a considerate man, the deacon ; . . . ye'W no 
hae forgotten him, Robin? Scott, Rob Roy.xxiii. 
A little difference, my dear. . . . There u?iU be such in 
the best-regulated families. Thackeray, Philip, iivi. 
"Areyouseeingany angels, Rob?" . . . "I'mnotaore; 
... it is not easy to tell what tcill be an angel, and what 
will not. There 's so much all blue up there.' 
Geo. MacDonald, What's Mine's Mine, xix. 
5. To be (am, is, are, etc.) ready or about (to 
do, etc.): said of one on the point of doing 
something not necessarily accomplished. 
As the queene hem saugh, she wiste well she was be- 
traied, and wolde crye as she that was sore affraied, and 
thei seide that jef she spake eny worde she sholde a-non 
be sla J ne. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iiL 46a 
6. lu future and conditional constructions, to be 
(am, is, are, etc, ) (to do, etc. ) : in general noting 
in the first person a promise or determination, 
and in the second and third mere assertion of 
a future occurrence without reference to the 
will of the subject, other verb-phrases being 
compounded with the auxiliary shall. For a 
more detailed discrimination between will and 
shall, see shain, B., 2. 
And al the bettre sule ge speden, 
If ge vrUen gee with treweithe leden. 
Genesis and Exodus (E. E. T. S.), 1, 2304. 
Yef we M'lttefA don his seruise . . . we sollen habbetho 
mede wel griat ine heuene. 
Old Eng. Misc. (ed. Morris^ p. 3S. 
At a '-inight than icol I first b^nne. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T.,1. 42. 
Wife. 0, we shall have murder ! you kill my heart. 
May. No, I tvill shed no blood. 
Dekker and Wehmter, Northward Ho, L 3. 
Without their teaming, how xcUt thou with them. 
Or they with thee, hold conversation meet? 
MUUm, P. R,, iv. 231. 
Thou icould^gt have thought, so furious was their fire. 
No force could tame them, and no toil could tire. 
Po;w, Iliad, xv. 844. 
It was all to be done in the most delicate manner, and 
all would assist. Thackeray xvould lecture, so icould W. H. 
RuBsell ; Dickens would give a reading. 
E. H. Yates, Recollections and Experiences, I. vii. 
In such constructions uHll is sometimes found where pre- 
cision would require shall. See shall^, B., final note. 
I woxdd have thought her spirit had been invincible 
against all assaults of affection. 
Shak., Much Ado. ii. 3. 119. 
If we contrast the present with so late a period as thirty 
years ago, we will perceive that there has been nothing 
short of a national awakening. 
W. Sharp, D. 0. Rossetti, p. 40. 
[Would is often used for icill in order to avoid a dogmatic 
style or to soften blunt or harsh assertions, questions, etc. 
A pretty idle toy ; would you take money for it? 
Dekker and Webster, Northward Ho, L 1. 
Woidd you say the Lord's Prayer for me. old fellow? 
J. H. Ewi)ig, Six to Sixteen, ii. 
In all its senses the auxiliary trill may be used with an 
ellipsis of the following infinitive. 
Bot I (n/i to the chapel, for chaunce that may falle. 
Sir Gaivayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2132. 
And Pandare wep as he to water u-olde. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 115. 
Pa7i. I heartily beseech you what must I do? 
Tronil. Even what thou uUt. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, iii. 36. 
First, then — A woman trill, or tfou'f— depend on't; 
If she will do't, she irill; and there 's an end on *t. 
A. HiU. Zara, Epil.) 
Will (you, he, etc.), nlll (you, he, etc.). See niWi. 
