h₂welh₁-
“to wish, to choose”wish, will, choose
Root for wishing/choosing, yielding English will, well, wealth, Latin volo (I want).
Discussion
The PIE root *h₂welh₁- (to wish, to will, to choose) produced the vocabulary of desire, choice, and political governance — connecting the private act of wanting to the public act of ruling.
Latin velle (to wish, to will) continues the root: voluntary (done by will), volunteer (one who wills to act), volition (the act of willing), benevolent (wishing well), malevolent (wishing ill), and the philosophical concept of will — the capacity for self-directed choice.
English will (OE willan, from PGmc *wiljaną) continues the root natively — making will and voluntary etymological cousins, both from the PIE root for wishing. English well (the adverb — OE well, "in a wished-for manner") and wealth (OE wela, "wished-for condition" — prosperity as the state one wills) may also connect.
Greek boúlomai (βούλομαι, "to wish, to will") and the derivative boulḗ (council — where collective willing occurs) preserve the Hellenic reflex. The Athenian Boulē (Council of 500) was named for the act of communal choosing.
Sanskrit vr̥ṇāti ("he chooses") and vara- ("wish, choice, boon") confirm the Indo-Iranian reflex.
The root connects to *gʷhel- (to wish, to will — see the will/volition root) as part of the PIE vocabulary of desire and choice. The existence of multiple wishing/willing roots suggests that PIE speakers distinguished different modes of desire.
Notes
Pokorny 1137-1138. English will, well, wealth, voluntary, benevolent.