An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/wollen

by Friedrich Kluge

wollen, verb, ‘to wish, be willing, have a mind to, intend,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wollen (węllen), Old High German wellan (węllan); an anomalous verb; the further details belong to grammar. Compare Old Saxon węllian, willian, Dutch willen, Anglo-Saxon willan, English to will, Gothic wiljan. The connection between the Teutonic root wel, ‘to wish,’ with which Wahl and wohl are also connected, and the equivalent Latin velle is apparent; compare also Sanscrit vṛ (var), ‘to choose, prefer,’ Old Slovenian voliti, ‘to be willing.’ Greek βούλομαι ‘to be willing,’ is, on the other hand, not allied; it is more probably related to Greek ἐθέλω, θέλω, ‘to wish,’ which, like Sanscrit hary, ‘to desire,’ points to an Aryan ghel (ghwel), which would produce in Teutonic likewise a root wël, ‘to be willing.’