wollen German · revision 35399

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *welh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvɔlən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wollen''' (preterite-present, third-person singular present will, past tense wollte, past participle gewollt, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+ Until the 19th century the older second person singular ''du wilt'' was still used in literature beside ''du willst''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|wollen]] (also [[m|gmh|wellen]]), [[inh|goh|wellen]] (in Franconian also [[m|goh|wollen]] from the 9th century), [[inh|gem-pro|*wiljaną|t=to want]].^(Kluge 2011|995)^(Wiktionary) The same verb is [[got|𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=wiljan]], [[non|vilja]], [[ang|willan]], [[ofs|willa]] and [[osx|willian]], and it survives in [[nl|willen]], [[en|will]] and [[sv|vilja]].^(Kluge 2011|995)^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ Kluge and Kroonen derive it from the optative of the root [[ine-pro|*welh₁-|t=to choose, want]]: the Germanic verb is built on the wishing mood, which replaced the indicative.^(Kluge 2011|995)^(Kroonen 2013)^(DWB|30, 1326) It was later reshaped on the model of the preterite-present verbs, from which it took a weak preterite, [[goh|wolta]] beside [[ang|wolde]].^(Kluge 2011|995) Kluge takes the /a/-grade of the Old High German form from the related verb that gave [[wählen]], and Wiktionary likewise explains it as a blend of [[gmw-pro|*willjan]] and [[m|gmw-pro|*walljan]].^(Kluge 2011|995)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Outside Germanic the root appears in [[la|volō|t=to want]], [[ru|велеть|tr=velet’|t=to order]] and probably, with an extension, in [[grc|ἔλδομαι|tr=éldomai|t=to long for]].^(Kluge 2011|995)^(Duden 7 2020|939)^(DWB|30, 1326)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''wellen'' is recorded from the 8th century.^(Kluge 2011|995)^(Köbler AHD) It appears in the Benedictine Rule, the Freising Paternoster, the ''Hildebrandslied'', the Isidor translation and the Georgslied, meaning “to want, wish, desire, claim”, “to be wont to”, “to mean”, and also serving to express the future.^(Schützeichel 2012|378)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German had the forms ''wellen'', ''wollen'', ''wöllen'' and ''wullen''; the second person ''du wilt'' is found from the 11th century.^(Lexer 1872|3, 753) Paul describes how the preterite subjunctive weakened to express a mere wish, as in ''ich wollte, du wärest bei mir'' “I wish you were with me”, and how the verb came to be used with a subject that is not a person, to say what something needs: ''die Gelegenheit will genutzt sein'' “the opportunity must be used”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ With a perfect infinitive it reports a claim that the speaker doubts: ''er will es nicht gewusst haben'' “he claims not to have known”.^(Duden Universal 2007)^(Wiktionary) The infinitive used as a noun, ''Wollen'', became a term of law (“order, decree”) and of philosophy (“volition”).^(DWB|30, 1363)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''wellen'' is first recorded.^(Kluge 2011|995)

+ * 9th century – Franconian ''wollen'' appears beside ''wellen''.^(Kluge 2011|995)

+ * 11th century – The second person singular ''du wilt'' is recorded.^(Lexer 1872|3, 753)

+ * 19th century – Literary ''du wilt'' gives way to ''du willst''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(modal, with infinitive)'' To want, [[m|en|intend]], mean to do something: ''er will uns morgen besuchen'' “he wants to visit us tomorrow”.^(Duden Universal 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(modal, in the preterite)'' Used to make a polite [[m|en|request]]: ''ich wollte Sie bitten…'' “I wanted to ask you…”.^(Duden Universal 2007)

+ # ''(modal, dated, in the subjunctive)'' Used for a polite but firm instruction: ''man wolle bitte darauf achten'' “please be careful”.^(Duden Universal 2007)

+ # ''(modal, with perfect infinitive)'' To [[m|en|claim]], of a statement the speaker doubts.^(Duden Universal 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(modal, mostly negated)'' Of a thing: not to work, not to happen as expected: ''die Wunde will nicht heilen'' “the wound won't heal”.^(Duden Universal 2007)

+ # ''(modal, with past participle and sein or werden)'' To need, to require: ''das will gekonnt sein'' “that takes skill”.^(Duden Universal 2007)

+ # ''(modal)'' To be meant as, to aim to be: ''das Buch will ein Ratgeber sein'' “the book is meant as a guide”.^(Duden Universal 2007)

+ # ''(full verb)'' To want, [[m|en|wish]] for, [[m|en|desire]]: ''das habe ich nicht gewollt'' “I did not want that”.^(Duden Universal 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(full verb, colloquial)'' To want to go somewhere: ''sie wollen ans Meer'' “they want to go to the seaside”.^(Duden Universal 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wollen]]

+ * [[Wille]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wählen]]

+ * [[Wahl]]

+ * [[wohl]]

+ * [[Volontär]]

+ * [[en|will]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate adjective ''wollen'' means “woollen, made of wool”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) It is [[gmh|wullīn]], from [[goh|wullīn]] (9th century), a derivative of [[Wolle]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The form ''wollen'', assimilated to the noun, became general in the written language in the second half of the 18th century, as ''golden'' replaced ''gülden''; dialects keep ''wüllen'' and ''wullen''.^(DWB|30, 1325)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}