will

will
    n 1: the capability of conscious choice and decision and
         intention; "the exercise of their volition we construe as
         revolt"- George Meredith [syn: {volition}, {will}]
    2: a fixed and persistent intent or purpose; "where there's a
       will there's a way"
    3: a legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the
       disposal of their property when they die [syn: {will},
       {testament}]
    v 1: decree or ordain; "God wills our existence"
    2: determine by choice; "This action was willed and intended"
    3: leave or give by will after one's death; "My aunt bequeathed
       me all her jewelry"; "My grandfather left me his entire
       estate" [syn: {bequeath}, {will}, {leave}] [ant:
       {disinherit}, {disown}]
    

Will \Will\, n. [OE. wille, AS. willa; akin to OFries. willa,
   OS. willeo, willio, D. wil, G. wille, Icel. vili, Dan.
   villie, Sw. vilja, Goth wilja. See {Will}, v.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the
      soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or
      power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do;
      the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two
      or more objects.
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            It is necessary to form a distinct notion of what is
            meant by the word "volition" in order to understand
            the import of the word will, for this last word
            expresses the power of mind of which "volition" is
            the act.                              --Stewart.
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            Will is an ambiguous word, being sometimes put for
            the faculty of willing; sometimes for the act of
            that faculty, besides [having] other meanings. But
            "volition" always signifies the act of willing, and
            nothing else.                         --Reid.
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            Appetite is the will's solicitor, and the will is
            appetite's controller; what we covet according to
            the one, by the other we often reject. --Hooker.
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            The will is plainly that by which the mind chooses
            anything.                             --J. Edwards.
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   2. The choice which is made; a determination or preference
      which results from the act or exercise of the power of
      choice; a volition.
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            The word "will," however, is not always used in this
            its proper acceptation, but is frequently
            substituted for "volition", as when I say that my
            hand mover in obedience to my will.   --Stewart.
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   3. The choice or determination of one who has authority; a
      decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.
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            Thy will be done.                     --Matt. vi.
                                                  10.
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            Our prayers should be according to the will of God.
                                                  --Law.
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   4. Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.
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   Note: "Inclination is another word with which will is
         frequently confounded. Thus, when the apothecary says,
         in Romeo and Juliet, 
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               My poverty, but not my will, consents; . . .
               Put this in any liquid thing you will,
               And drink it off.
         [1913 Webster] the word will is plainly used as,
         synonymous with inclination; not in the strict logical
         sense, as the immediate antecedent of action. It is
         with the same latitude that the word is used in common
         conversation, when we speak of doing a thing which duty
         prescribes, against one's own will; or when we speak of
         doing a thing willingly or unwillingly." --Stewart.
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   5. That which is strongly wished or desired.
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            What's your will, good friar?         --Shak.
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            The mariner hath his will.            --Coleridge.
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   6. Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or
      determine.
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            Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies.
                                                  --Ps. xxvii.
                                                  12.
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   7. (Law) The legal declaration of a person's mind as to the
      manner in which he would have his property or estate
      disposed of after his death; the written instrument,
      legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his
      estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise.
      See the Note under {Testament}, 1.
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   Note: Wills are written or nuncupative, that is, oral. See
         {Nuncupative will}, under {Nuncupative}.
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   {At will} (Law), at pleasure. To hold an estate at the will
      of another, is to enjoy the possession at his pleasure,
      and be liable to be ousted at any time by the lessor or
      proprietor. An estate at will is at the will of both
      parties.

   {Good will}. See under {Good}.

   {Ill will}, enmity; unfriendliness; malevolence.

   {To have one's will}, to obtain what is desired; to do what
      one pleases.

   {Will worship}, worship according to the dictates of the will
      or fancy; formal worship. [Obs.]

   {Will worshiper}, one who offers will worship. [Obs.] --Jer.
      Taylor.

   {With a will}, with willingness and zeal; with all one's
      heart or strength; earnestly; heartily.
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Will \Will\, v. t. & auxiliary. [imp. {Would}. Indic. present, I
   will (Obs. I wol), thou wilt, he will (Obs. he wol); we, ye,
   they will.] [OE. willen, imp. wolde; akin to OS. willan,
   OFries. willa, D. willen, G. wollen, OHG. wollan, wellan,
   Icel. & Sw. vilja, Dan. ville, Goth. wiljan, OSlav. voliti,
   L. velle to wish, volo I wish; cf. Skr. v[.r] to choose, to
   prefer. Cf. {Voluntary}, {Welcome}, {Well}, adv.]
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   1. To wish; to desire; to incline to have.
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            A wife as of herself no thing ne sholde [should]
            Wille in effect, but as her husband wolde [would].
                                                  --Chaucer.
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            Caleb said unto her, What will thou ? --Judg. i. 14.
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            They would none of my counsel.        --Prov. i. 30.
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   2. As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent
      on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes
      willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is
      emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as,
      I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the
      second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition,
      wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is
      appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will
      go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize
      will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain
      futurity or fixed determination.
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   Note: Will, auxiliary, may be used elliptically for will go.
         "I'll to her lodgings." --Marlowe.
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   Note: As in shall (which see), the second and third persons
         may be virtually converted into the first, either by
         question or indirect statement, so as to receive the
         meaning which belongs to will in that person; thus,
         "Will you go?" (answer, "I will go") asks assent,
         requests, etc.; while "Will he go?" simply inquires
         concerning futurity; thus, also,"He says or thinks he
         will go," "You say or think you will go," both signify
         willingness or consent.
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   Note: Would, as the preterit of will, is chiefly employed in
         conditional, subjunctive, or optative senses; as, he
         would go if he could; he could go if he would; he said
         that he would go; I would fain go, but can not; I would
         that I were young again; and other like phrases. In the
         last use, the first personal pronoun is often omitted;
         as, would that he were here; would to Heaven that it
         were so; and, omitting the to in such an adjuration.
         "Would God I had died for thee." Would is used for both
         present and future time, in conditional propositions,
         and would have for past time; as, he would go now if he
         were ready; if it should rain, he would not go; he
         would have gone, had he been able. Would not, as also
         will not, signifies refusal. "He was angry, and would
         not go in." --Luke xv. 28. Would is never a past
         participle.
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   Note: In Ireland, Scotland, and the United States, especially
         in the southern and western portions of the United
         States, shall and will, should and would, are often
         misused, as in the following examples: 
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               I am able to devote as much time and attention to
               other subjects as I will [shall] be under the
               necessity of doing next winter.    --Chalmers.
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               A countryman, telling us what he had seen,
               remarked that if the conflagration went on, as it
               was doing, we would [should] have, as our next
               season's employment, the Old Town of Edinburgh to
               rebuild.                           --H. Miller.
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               I feel assured that I will [shall] not have the
               misfortune to find conflicting views held by one
               so enlightened as your excellency. --J. Y. Mason.
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Will \Will\, v. i.
   To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to
   determine; to decree.
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         At Winchester he lies, so himself willed. --Robert of
                                                  Brunne.
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         He that shall turn his thoughts inward upon what passes
         in his own mind when he wills.           --Locke.
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         I contend for liberty as it signifies a power in man to
         do as he wills or pleases.               --Collins.
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Will \Will\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Willed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Willing}. Indic. present I will, thou willeth, he wills; we,
   ye, they will.] [Cf. AS. willian. See {Will}, n.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of
      choice; to ordain; to decree. "What she will to do or
      say." --Milton.
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            By all law and reason, that which the Parliament
            will not, is no more established in this kingdom.
                                                  --Milton.
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            Two things he [God] willeth, that we should be good,
            and that we should be happy.          --Barrow.
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   2. To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an
      act of volition; to direct; to order. [Obs. or R.]
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            They willed me say so, madam.         --Shak.
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            Send for music,
            And will the cooks to use their best of cunning
            To please the palate.                 --Beau. & Fl.
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            As you go, will the lord mayor . . .
            To attend our further pleasure presently. --J.
                                                  Webster.
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   3. To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to
      bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child;
      also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that
      his nephew should have his watch.
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Will \Will\, v. i.
   To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to
   wish; to desire.
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         And behold, there came a leper and worshiped him,
         saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
         And Jesus . . . touched him, saying, I will; be thou
         clean.                                   --Matt. viii.
                                                  2, 3.
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   Note: This word has been confused with will, v. i., to
         choose, which, unlike this, is of the weak conjugation.
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   {Will I, nill I}, or {Will ye, hill ye}, or {Will he, nill
   he}, whether I, you, or he will it or not; hence, without
      choice; compulsorily; -- commonly abbreviated to {willy
      nilly}. "If I must take service willy nilly." --J. H.
      Newman. "Land for all who would till it, and reading and
      writing will ye, nill ye." --Lowell.
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WILL, criminal law. The power of the mind which directs the actions of a 
man. 
     2. In criminal law it is necessary that there should be an act of the 
will to commit a crime, for unless the act is wilful it is no offence. 
     3. It is the consent of the will which renders human actions 
commendable or culpable, and where there is no win there can be no 
transgression. 
     4. The defect or want of will may be classed as follows: 1. Natural, as 
that of infancy. 2. Accidental; namely, 1st. Dementia. 2d. Casualty or 
chance. 3d. Ignorance. (q.v.) 3. Civil; namely, 1st. Civil subjection. 2d. 
Compulsion. 3d. Necessity. 4th. Well-grounded fear. Hale's P. C. c. 2 Hawk. 
P. C. book 1, c. 1. 
    

WILL or TESTAMENT. The legal declaration of a man's intentions of what he 
wills to be performed after his death. Co. Litt. 111; Swinb. Pt. 1, s. II. 
1; Shep. Touch. 398; Bac. Abr. Wills, A. 
     2. The terms will and testament are synonymous, and they are used 
indifferently by common lawyers, or one for the other. Swinb. p. 1, s. 1. 5; 
Bac. Ab. Wills. A. Civilians use the term testament only. See Testament. 
     3. There are five essential requisites to make a good will. 
     4.-1. The testator must be legally capable of making a will. Generally 
all persons who may make valid contracts can dispose of their property by 
will. See Parties to contracts. This act requires a power of the mind freely 
to dispose of property. Infants, because of their tender age, and married 
women, on account of the supposed influence and control of their husbands, 
have no capacity to make a will, with these exceptions, that infants at 
common law may dispose of their personal estate, the males when over 
fourteen years of age, and the females when over twelve; this rule in 
relation to infants is not uniform in the United States. Swinb. p. 2, s. 2; 
Bac. Ab. Wills, B. Persons devoid of understanding, as idiots and lunatics, 
cannot make a will. 
     5.-2. The testator at the time of making his will must have animum 
testandi, or a serious intention to make such will. If a man therefore 
jestingly or boastingly and not seriously, writes or says that such a person 
shall have his goods or be his executor, this is no will. Bac. Ab. Wills, C; 
Com. Dig. Estates by Devise, D 1. See 4 Serg. & Rawle, 545; 2 Yeates, 324; 5 
Binn. 490; 1 Des. R. 543. 
     6.-3. The mind of the testator in making his will must be free, and not 
moved by fear, fraud or flattery. In such cases the will is void or at least 
voidable. Bac. Ab. Wills, C; see 3 Serg. & Rawle, 269. Vide influence. 
     7.-4. There must be a person to take, capable of taking; for to render 
a devise or bequest valid there must be a donee in esse, or in rerum natura, 
and one that shall have capacity to take the thing given, when it is to 
vest, or the gift shall be void. Plowd. 345. See Legatee. 
     8.-5. The will must be put in proper form., Wills are either written or 
nuncupative. 
     9.-1. A will in writing must be, 1. Written on paper or parchment; it 
may be in any language, and in any character, provided it can be read or 
understood. 2. It must be signed by the testator or some person authorized 
by him; but a sealing has been held to be a sufficient signing. 2 Str. 764. 
But see 3 Lev. R. 1; 1 Const. R. 343; 18 Ves. R. 183; 2 Ball & B. 104 5 
Mood. R. 484, and article To sign. And it ought to be signed by the 
attesting witnesses. In some states three witnesses are required, who should 
sign the will as such at the request and in the presence of the testator and 
of each other. This formality should generally be pursued, as the testator 
may have lands in such states which would not pass without it. See, as to 
the attestation of wills, Bac. Ab. Wills, D; Rob. on Wills, c. 1, part 15. 
3. It must be published, that is, the testator must do some act from which 
it can be concluded that he intended the instrument to operate as his will. 
6 Cruise, 79; 4 Burn's Eccl. Law, 119. As to the republication of wills, see 
Bac. Abr. Wills, D 3; and article Publication. 4. To make a good will of 
goods and chattels there must be an executor named in it, otherwise it will 
be a codocil only, and the party is said to die intestate; in such a case 
administration must be granted. Bac. Abr. Wills, D 2. 
     10.-2. A nuncupative will or testament, is a verbal declaration by a 
testator of his will before a competent number of legal witnesses. 
     11. Before the statute of frauds they were very common, but by that 
statute, 29 C. H. c. 3, which has been substantially adopted in a number of 
the states, these wills were laid under many restrictions. Vide Dane's Ab. 
chap. 127, a. 2; 3 Harr. & John. 208; 6 Munf. R. 123; 1 Munf. R. 456; 4 Hen. 
& Munf. 91-100. 
     12. In New York nuncupative wills have been abolished, except made by a 
soldier while in actual military service, or by a mariner while at sea. 2 
New York Revised Statutes, 60, sec. 22. As to nuncupative wills in 
Louisiana, see Testament nuncupative; and Civil Code of Louisiana, article 
1574. 
     13. It is a rule that the last will revokes all former wills. It 
follows then that a man cannot by any testamentary act impose upon himself 
the inability of making another inconsistent with and revoking the first 
will. Bac. Ab. Wills, E; Swinb. pt. 7, s. 14. 
     14. A will voluntarily and intentionally made by a competent testator, 
according to the form required by law, may be avoided, 1st. By revocation, 
see Revocation; Bac. Abr. Wills, G 1; Vin. Abr. Devise, P; 1 Rolle, Ab. 615; 
Com. Dig. Estates by Dev. F; and, 2d. By fraud. 
     15. Among the civilians they have two other kinds of wills, namely: the 
mystic, which is a will enveloped in a paper and sealed, and the witnesses 
attest that fact, the other is the olographic; which is wholly written by 
the testator himself. See Testament. As to wills and testaments, see 
Swinburne on Wills; Roberts on Wills; Lovelass on Wills; Roper on Legacies; 
Lowndes on Legacies; Will. on Ex. pt. 1; Vin. Abr. Devise; Rolle's Abr. 
Devise; Bac. Abr. Wills and Testaments; Com. Dig. Estates by Devise; Nels. 
Abr. h.t.; Amer. Dig. Wills; Whart. Dig. Wills; Toll. on Executors; Off. 
Ex.; Orph. Legacy; Touchst, ch. 23 Civil Code of Louisiana, B. 3, tit. 2; 
Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.; and the articles Devise; Legacy; Testament. 
    

Will -- U.S. County in Illinois
   Population (2000):    502266
   Housing Units (2000): 175524
   Land area (2000):     836.940601 sq. miles (2167.666114 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    12.445816 sq. miles (32.234514 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    849.386417 sq. miles (2199.900628 sq. km)
   Located within:       Illinois (IL), FIPS 17
   Location:             41.527431 N, 88.029840 W
   Headwords:
    Will
    Will, IL
    Will County
    Will County, IL
    

188 Moby Thesaurus words for "will":
      add a codicil, aim, alternativity, ambition, animus, aplomb,
      appetite, ardor, aspiration, assurance, attested copy, behest,
      bequeath, bequeathal, bequest, bidding, character, choice, choose,
      choose to, choosing, co-optation, co-option, codicil, command,
      commandment, commitment, conclude, concupiscence, confidence,
      control, counsel, crave, curiosity, decide, decidedness, decision,
      decisiveness, decree, dedication, definiteness, desideration,
      desideratum, design, desire, determinateness, determination,
      determine, determinedness, devise, devotion, dictate, dictation,
      direct order, discipline, discretion, disposition, drive,
      eagerness, earnestness, effect, election, entail, execute a will,
      fancy, fantasy, first choice, fix, fixed purpose,
      fixity of purpose, fortitude, free choice, free will, function,
      hand down, hand on, hankering, hest, hope, horme, idea, imperative,
      inclination, inheritance, intellectual curiosity, intendment,
      intent, intention, iron will, leave, legacy, legate, libido, like,
      liking, longing, lust for learning, make a bequest, make a will,
      meaning, mind, moral courage, moral fiber, motive, need, nisus,
      obstinacy, order, pass on, passion, perseverance, persistence,
      pick, pining, plan, please, pleasure, pleasure principle, point,
      poise, power, preference, preoption, probate, project, proposal,
      prospectus, purpose, purposefulness, relentlessness, resoluteness,
      resolution, resolve, resolvedness, restraint, sake, say-so, seal,
      see fit, selection, self-command, self-control, self-discipline,
      self-government, self-mastery, self-possession, self-restraint,
      self-will, seriousness, settle, sexual desire, sincerity,
      single-mindedness, special order, strength, strength of mind,
      strength of purpose, striving, study, take a resolution, temper,
      tenacity, testament, the pick, think fit, think good, think proper,
      thirst for knowledge, total commitment, transmit, urge, velleity,
      view, volition, want, wanting, will and bequeath,
      will and pleasure, will of iron, will power, will to, willpower,
      wish, wish fulfillment, wishes, word, word of command, yearning