Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wilful” come from?

Wilful comes from Middle English wilful, meaning deliberate or intentional, formed from will and the suffix -ful.

wilful (English): Intentional; deliberate; Stubborn and determined

Definitions

  1. Intentional; deliberate; Stubborn and determined

Ancestry of “wilful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwilful—

Words derived from “wilful”

  • wilfulness
  • unwilful
  • unwilfully
  • unwilfulness
Every word from Middle English wilful →