willingly

From Middle English willyngly, wyllyngly (“intentionally, deliverately; freely, gladly”), from Old English willendlīċe (“diligently”), equivalent to willing +‎ -ly.

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪlɪŋli/
• Hyphenation: will‧ing‧ly

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willingly (comparative more willingly, superlative most willingly)

1. Of one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously.
   • 1748, [David Hume], chapter 29, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     Now this is a process of the mind or thought, of which I would willingly know the foundation.

• gladly, happily