Will vs. Would

Will (verb)

To wish, desire (something). 9th-18th c.

“Do what you will.”

Will (verb)

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). 9th-19th c.

Will (verb)

To habitually do (a given action). from 9th c.

Will (verb)

To choose to (do something), used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive). from 10th c.

Will (verb)

Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall. from 10th c.

Will (verb)

To be able to, to have the capacity to. from 14th c.

“Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.”

Will (verb)

To wish, desire. 9th–19th c.

Will (verb)

To instruct (that something be done) in one’s will. from 9th c.

Will (verb)

To try to make (something) happen by using one’s will (intention). from 10th c.

“All the fans were willing their team to win the game.”

Will (verb)

To bequeath (something) to someone in one’s will (legal document). from 15th c.

“He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.”

Will (noun)

One’s independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one’s choice or intention. from 9th c.

“Of course, man’s will is often regulated by his reason.”

Will (noun)

One’s intention or decision; someone’s orders or commands. from 9th c.

“Eventually I submitted to my parents’ will.”

Will (noun)

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition. from 10th c.

“Most creatures have a will to live.”

Will (noun)

A formal declaration of one’s intent concerning the disposal of one’s property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes. from 14th c.

Will (noun)

That which is desired; one’s wish. from 10th c.

Will (noun)

Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) from 9th c.

“He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.”

Would (verb)

As a past-tense form of will.

Would (verb)

Wished, desired (something). 9^th-19^thc.

Would (verb)

Wanted to ( + bare infinitive). from 9^thc.

Would (verb)

Used to; was or were habitually accustomed to ( + bare infinitive); indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly. from 9^thc.

Would (verb)

Used with bare infinitive to form the “anterior future”, indicating a futurity relative to a past time. from 9^thc.

Would (verb)

Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses. from 9^thc.

Would (verb)

As a modal verb, the subjunctive of will.

Would (verb)

Was determined to; loosely, could naturally have been expected to (given the tendencies of someone’s character etc.). from 18^thc.

Would (verb)

Used to give a conditional or potential “softening” to the present; might, might wish. from 9^thc.

Would (verb)

Used as the auxiliary of the simple conditional modality (with a bare infinitive); indicating an action or state that is conditional on another. from 9^thc.

Would (verb)

Might wish ( + verb in past subjunctive); often used in the first person (with or without that) in the sense of “if only”. from 13^thc.

Would (verb)

Used to impart a sense of hesitancy or uncertainty to the present; might be inclined to. Now sometimes colloquially with ironic effect. from 15^thc.

Would (verb)

Used interrogatively to express a polite request; are (you) willing to …? from 15^thc.

“Would you pass the salt, please?”

Would (noun)

Something that would happen, or would be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.