Used with another verb to talk about the future or about something that regularly happens. As a noun, it can mean a strong desire or decision, or a legal document about what happens to your things after you die.
From Old English 'willan', meaning 'to want or wish.' It slowly turned into a helping verb for the future while still keeping the idea of desire and intention.
Our main future tense helper, 'will,' started life as a word for wanting. Hidden inside every 'I will' is the idea 'I want this to happen'—future and desire are tightly linked.
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