welh₁-
“to wish, to will, to want”want/will
PIE root meaning to wish, will, or want. Source of English "will," "well," Latin velle, and words for volition.
Discussion
The root *welh₁- ("to wish, to will, to want") is treated in LIV² (s.v. *welh₁-) and Pokorny (IEW 1137–1138). The laryngeal *h₁ is reconstructed from the lengthened-grade reflexes in daughter languages and the absence of vowel colouring.
Latin velle ("to want, to wish"), with its irregular conjugation volō, vīs, vult, preserves the athematic root present directly. From Latin come English voluntary, volition, benevolent, malevolent, and the legal term nōlō (from ne-volō, "I do not wish"), giving nolle prosequi. The noun voluntās ("will, desire") is the source of English volunteer.
In Germanic, the root yields Old English willan ("to will, to wish"), whence Modern English will (both the auxiliary verb and the noun). Old Norse vilja, Old High German wellan, and Gothic wiljan all continue the same formation. The noun *wiljō gives English will (testament, desire). The adjective *walaz yields well ("in a wished-for manner"). The wealth family (Old English wela, "prosperity") may derive from the same root via the o-grade *wol-, meaning "that which is wished for."
Greek elpís (ἐλπίς, "hope, expectation") is sometimes connected to *welh₁- via a metathesized form, though this is disputed. More securely, Greek eéldōr (ἐέλδωρ, "wish, desire") reflects the root.
Sanskrit vr̥ṇīté ("chooses, selects") and váras ("wish, choice") preserve the Indo-Iranian reflex with the characteristic semantic development from wishing to choosing. Old Church Slavonic velěti ("to command") shows the extension from willing to commanding.
The ablaut pattern *welh₁-/*wl̥h₁- is regular, and the root's semantic field—volition, desire, choice—is remarkably stable across the family.
Notes
Source of Latin "velle" (to want), English "will". Zero-grade *wl̥h₁-.