free will
/fɹiː wɪl/
noun
Origin
Old English
frēo + willa — unconstrained + desire/volition
Overview
Meaning Now
- The capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
- The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate.
Literal older meaning
The freedom or liberty of the will to determine its own acts.
Language path
Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
fre wil
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The concept of 'free will' (liberum arbitrium) became a central focus of Western philosophy and theology during the Middle Ages, particularly in debates regarding divine grace, predestination, and moral culpability for sin.
Evolution
- Old English
frēo + willa
“personal desire or volition of a free person.”
Used initially to describe autonomous choice.
- Middle English
fre wil
“the faculty of the human mind to choose between good and evil.”
Strongly associated with Scholastic philosophy.
- Modern English
free will
“philosophical concept of autonomous decision-making.”
Connections
Word parts
free
root
unconstrained
will
root
faculty of volition
Related across languages
German
freier Wille
free will
Dutch
vrije wil
free will
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Related to free will
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.