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willpower

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Etymology and origin of the English word willpower

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1842 Penny Satirist More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origins
Old English willaAnglo-Norman poer
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English will
English willpower
From the same root
English willing ← will

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈwɪlˌpaʊə(ɹ)/[1]
  • US: /ˈwɪlˌpaʊɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English will + power,[2][3][4] and also appears with a space or a hyphen.[3][1] The first element goes back to Old English willa (“mind, determination, desire”),[3] and the second to Anglo-Norman poer.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The strength of a person's will, the control used to do something hard or to hold back one's impulses: 1842, in the Penny Satirist.[2][5] Etymonline dates the word to 1847,[3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged to 1858,[6] and Dictionary.com to 1870–75.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its first meaning.[2] The Historical Thesaurus files it both under the will itself and under steadfastness, as the capacity for moral effort or endurance.[5] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate defines it as energetic determination,[7] and Chambers stresses the control of one's actions, emotions and impulses.[8]

Timeline

  • 1842 – the power of a person's will; self-control.[2][5] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1858.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The strength of will to carry out one's decisions and plans, or to restrain one's impulses; self-control: It took all her willpower to leave the last biscuit on the plate.[9][2][8]
  2. Determination and self-discipline that let someone keep going in spite of difficulties.[10][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ Encarta World English Dictionary (2009 ed.), Redmond: Microsoft
Cite this entry

“Willpower.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/willpower. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·