medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
--- Theresa Gross-Diaz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval
> religion and culture
>
> "Willy nilly" = will he, n'ill he = will I, n'ill I
> = (Will I , or will I not: "Will" in the germanic
> sense of want or desire) : whether I want to or not.
> I learn so much from this list!
I missed or overlooked the original, but just in case,
the expression is Old English, which negates certain
verbs such as will and forms of "to be" with a
compound with the negative that then of course changed
the word. Was not=naes (waes + ne). Thus, as you get
above, will he, nill he.
Larry Swain
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