Old English edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-West Germanic *ainawilljī. Cognate with Old High German einwilli. Equivalent to ān- +‎ -wille, literally "one-willed."

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈɑːnˌwil.le/, [ˈɑːnˌwiɫ.ɫe]

Adjective edit

ānwille

  1. stubborn
    • c. 1005, Ælfric's Letter to Sigeweard
      Hū mæġ sē mann wel faran þe his mōd āwent fram eallum þissum bōcum, and biþ him swā ānwille þæt him lēofre biþ þæt hē libbe ǣfre be his āgnum dihte āsċīred fram þissum, swelċe hē ne cunne Cristes ġesetnessa?
      How can someone do well if they turn their mind from all these books [stuff that Ælfric wrote], if they're so stubborn that they would rather live their life always making their own separate judgments, as if they don't know the laws of Christ?

Declension edit

Derived terms edit