Velleity

From Fresh Dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun

English

Etymology

From mediæval Latin velleitas, from Latin velle ‘wish’, ‘will’.

Pronunciation

IPA: /vɛ'li:ɪti/

Noun

Singular velleity

Plural velleities

1. The lowest degree of desire, with no effort to act.

   • 1973: This connoisseuse of “splendid weaknesses”, run not by any lust or even velleity but by vacuum: by the absence of human hope. — Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow

2. A slight wish not followed by any effort to obtain.

   • 1919: The debate in the House of Lords would convert the impartial listener from any velleity towards single-chamber government. — The Times, 24 Oct 1919, p.12 col. A