Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Will \Will\, v. t. & auxiliary. [imp. {Would}. Indic. present, I
   will (Obs. I wol), thou wilt, he will (Obs. he wol); we, ye,
   they will.] [OE. willen, imp. wolde; akin to OS. willan,
   OFries. willa, D. willen, G. wollen, OHG. wollan, wellan,
   Icel. & Sw. vilja, Dan. ville, Goth. wiljan, OSlav. voliti,
   L. velle to wish, volo I wish; cf. Skr. v[.r] to choose, to
   prefer. Cf. {Voluntary}, {Welcome}, {Well}, adv.]
   1. To wish; to desire; to incline to have.

            A wife as of herself no thing ne sholde [should]
            Wille in effect, but as her husband wolde [would].
                                                  --Chaucer.

            Caleb said unto her, What will thou ? --Judg. i. 14.

            They would none of my counsel.        --Prov. i. 30.

   2. As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent
      on the verb. Thus, in first person, ``I will'' denotes
      willingness, consent, promise; and when ``will'' is
      emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as,
      I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the
      second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition,
      wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is
      appropriately expressed; as, ``You will go,'' or ``He will
      go,'' describes a future event as a fact only. To
      emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context)
      certain futurity or fixed determination.

   Note: Will, auxiliary, may be used elliptically for will go.
         ``I'll to her lodgings.'' --Marlowe.

   Note: As in shall (which see), the second and third persons
         may be virtually converted into the first, either by
         question or indirect statement, so as to receive the
         meaning which belongs to will in that person; thus,
         ``Will you go?'' (answer, ``I will go'') asks assent,
         requests, etc.; while ``Will he go?'' simply inquires
         concerning futurity; thus, also,``He says or thinks he
         will go,'' ``You say or think you will go,'' both
         signify willingness or consent.

   Note: Would, as the preterit of will, is chiefly employed in
         conditional, subjunctive, or optative senses; as, he
         would go if he could; he could go if he would; he said
         that he would go; I would fain go, but can not; I would
         that I were young again; and other like phrases. In the
         last use, the first personal pronoun is often omitted;
         as, would that he were here; would to Heaven that it
         were so; and, omitting the to in such an adjuration.
         ``Would God I had died for thee.'' Would is used for
         both present and future time, in conditional
         propositions, and would have for past time; as, he
         would go now if he were ready; if it should rain, he
         would not go; he would have gone, had he been able.
         Would not, as also will not, signifies refusal. ``He
         was angry, and would not go in.'' --Luke xv. 28. Would
         is never a past participle.

   Note: In Ireland, Scotland, and the United States, especially
         in the southern and western portions of the United
         States, shall and will, should and would, are often
         misused, as in the following examples:

               I am able to devote as much time and attention to
               other subjects as I will [shall] be under the
               necessity of doing next winter.    --Chalmers.

               A countryman, telling us what he had seen,
               remarked that if the conflagration went on, as it
               was doing, we would [should] have, as our next
               season's employment, the Old Town of Edinburgh to
               rebuild.                           --H. Miller.

               I feel assured that I will [shall] not have the
               misfortune to find conflicting views held by one
               so enlightened as your excellency. --J. Y. Mason.

Would \Would\, imp. of {Will}. [OE. & AS. wolde. See {Will}, v.
   t.]
   Commonly used as an auxiliary verb, either in the past tense
   or in the conditional or optative present. See 2d & 3d
   {Will}.

   Note: Would was formerly used also as the past participle of
         {Will}.

               Right as our Lord hath would.      --Chaucer.

Would \Would\, n.
   See 2d {Weld}.