Contextualizebeta

velleity

noun
/vɛˈliː.ɪ.ti/

Etymology

From Medieval Latin velleitās, from Latin velle (“wish, will”).

  1. derived from velle
  2. borrowed from velleitās

Definitions

  1. The lowest degree of desire or volition

    The lowest degree of desire or volition; a total lack of effort to act.

    • This connoisseuse of “splendid weaknesses”, run not by any lust or even velleity but by vacuum: by the absence of human hope.

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

    • —And so the conversation slips / Among velleities and carefully caught regrets / Through attenuated tones of violins / Mingled with remote cornets / And begins.
    • The debate in the House of Lords would convert the impartial listener from any velleity towards single-chamber government.

The neighborhood

Derived

velleitary

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for velleity. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA