volition
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What is the definition and pronunciation of “volition”?
It's the word of the day for September 20th. Today's word is volition, spelled V-O-L-I-T-I-O-N. Volition is a noun. It's a formal word that means the power to make your own choices or decisions.
How is “volition” illustrated with the bird‑bath worm anecdote?
Usually, though not always, volition follows the word own, as in left the company of her own volition. Here's the word used in a sentence from the Marin Independent Journal. Believe it or not, a lot of people find worms in their birdbaths. Some birds, most notably crows, like to give their food a good dunking before eating, so there's a possibility worms in the birdbath were left by these fastidious birds.
What are the Latin roots and historical evolution of the word “volition”?
The most likely reason is that the worms crawled there on their own volition. When you do something of your own volition, you do it voluntarily, which makes sense. Both volition and voluntary ultimately come from the Latin word vele, meaning to wish or to will. English speakers borrowed volition from French in the 17th century, using it at first to mean an act of choosing, a meaning Herman Melville employed in Moby Dick with these words, almost simultaneously with a mighty volition of ungraduated instantaneous swiftness, the white whale darted through the weltering sea.
How does the episode wrap up the word‑of‑the‑day segment?
By then, however, the word had also developed an additional meaning, the power to choose, which is now more common. With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski. Visit Merriam-Webster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.
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