Word of the Day : June 28, 2019

Word of the Day : June 28, 2019
volition
noun voh-LISH-un

[h1]Definition[/h1]1 : the power of choosing or determining : will
2 : an act of making a choice or decision; also : a choice o
[h1]Examples[/h1]"The rules of the universe created certain compulsions, as did the formal and structural conventions I'd put in motion. Slowly, without any volition from me…, the characters started to do certain things, each on his or her own, the sum total of which resulted, in the end, in a broad, cooperative pattern that seemed to be arguing for what I'd call a viral theory of goodness." — George Saunders, The Guardian, 4 Mar. 2017
"Mr. [Gus] Ben David said there is no chance that the wild coyote was brought to the Island by a human. 'No, no way. Coyotes, even if you raise one from a little pup, they're vicious. No way that animal was brought to this Island. That animal basically got here on its own volition,' he said." — Noah Asimow, The Vineyard Gazette (Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts), 15 May 2019
Did You Know?
Volition ultimately derives from the Latin verb velle, meaning "to will" or "to wish." (The adjective voluntary descends from the same source.) English speakers borrowed the term from French in the 17th century, using it at first to mean "an act of choosing," a meaning Herman Melville employed in Moby Dick (1851): "Almost simultaneously, with a mighty volition of ungraduated, instantaneous swiftness, the White Whale darted through the weltering sea." Melville's use comes about a century after the word had developed an additional meaning: "the power to choose." This meaning, now the word's dominant use, is found in such sentences as "Members must join of their own volition."
[h1]Word Family Quiz[/h1]Does velleity refer to a high or low degree of volition?
ps：上述文字音频图片均来自于网络详细链接地址见阅读原文
   下述译文仅供参考

[h1]Definition[/h1]1：选择或决定的力量：将
2：作出选择或决定的行为; 还有：选择o
[h1]Examples[/h1]“宇宙的规则造成了某些强迫，正如我所提出的正式和结构惯例一样。慢慢地，没有任何意志......，角色开始做某些事情，每一个都是他或她自己的，总和最终，这一整体以一种广泛的合作模式产生了，这种模式似乎正在为我称之为病毒的善良理论而辩护。“  - “卫报”乔治·桑德斯，2017年3月4日
“[Gus] Ben David先生说野生土狼没有机会被一个人带到岛上。”不，没办法。土狼，即使你从一只小狗身上养了一只，它们也是邪恶的。动物被带到这个岛上的方式。这种动物基本上是按照自己的意愿来到这里的，“他说。”  -  Noah Asimow，The Vineyard Gazette（Martha's Vineyard，Massachusetts），2019年5月15日
Did You Know?
Volition最终来自拉丁语动词velle，意思是“意志”或“希望”。（形容词自愿来自同一来源。）英语使用者在17世纪从法语中借用了这个词，起初用它来表示“选择行为”，Herman Melville在Moby Dick（1851）中使用的意思：“几乎同时，怀着肆无忌惮，瞬间迅速的强大意志，白鲸穿过汹涌的大海。“ 梅尔维尔的使用是在这个词产生了另外一个含义后的一个世纪：“选择的力量”。这个词的主要用法，在“成员必须加入自己的意志”这样的句子中找到。