From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.
The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
Meanings
(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, idiomatic, slang) Ellipsis of I would, used to denote that the speaker finds another person sexually attractive.
From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.
The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
Meanings
Something that would happen, or would be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.
When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too. 1996, Fred Shoemaker, Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible, page 88:
Shushona you must learn to rightfully prioritize all the woulds, shoulds and coulds of your life. 2010, Shushona Novos, The Personal Universal: A Guidebook for Spiritual Evolution, page 395:
From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.
The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
Meanings
(auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.
Toure would have the decisive say though, rising high to power a header past Kenny from Aleksandar Kolarov's cross. 2011 November 5, Phil Dawkes, “QPR 2-3 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
Hi! I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. My name’s Chema.
I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me.
That her Lily should have been won and not worn, had been, and would be, a trouble to her for ever. 1867, Anthony Trollope, chapter 28, in Last Chronicle of Barset:
They thought anything Elvis did would sell, but that was not true.
On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife.
Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen. 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0056:
(auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used to, did repeatedly, habitually; indicates an action that happened several times in the past (cannot describe continuous states, as in I used to live in London)
When we were younger, we would cycle out to the beach most summer Sundays.
When we were kids we would sit by the radio with a tape recorder on a Sunday, listening out for the chart songs we wanted to have. 2009 March 15, “Soundtrack of my life”, in The Guardian:
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:
(auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Was or were determined to; indicating someone's insistence upon doing something.
Then he took to breeding silk-worms, which he would bring in two or three times a day, in little paper boxes, to show the old lady[…]. 1836, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter V, in Sketches by “Boz,” Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Macrone, […], →OCLC:
I asked her to stay in with me, but she would go out.
(archaic, auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Wanted to.
The Greeks, especially those who would be thought adepts in mystic theology, ran after fantastic allegories […]. 1852, James Murdock, trans. Johann Lorenz Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, II.7.iii
And thenne at laste a-nother sayd that he wolde have eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel. 1490, William Caxton, Prologue to Eneydos:
(archaic, auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.
At which time he told me, he would to London that week, and so to Oxford. 1694, John Strype, Memorials of The Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas Cranmer, Appendix page 68:
'I thank thee, oh Ayesha,' I replied, with as much dignity as I could command, 'but if there be such a place as thou dost describe, and if in this strange place there may be found a fiery virtue that can hold off Death when he comes to pluck us by the hand, yet would I none of it.' 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
He sat as one astonish'd, a good-while, looking at me, without speaking a Word, till I came quite up to him, kneel'd on one Knee to him, and almost whether he would or no, kiss'd his Hand[…]. 1724, Daniel Defoe, Roxana, Penguin, page 107:
(auxiliary, obsolete) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Wished, desired (something).
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used as the auxiliary of the simple conditional modality, indicating a state or action that is conditional on another.
Warnock admitted it would be the ideal scenario if he received a Carling Cup winners' medal as well as an England call-up[…]. 2010 February 26, The Guardian:
If I won the lottery, I would give half the money to charity.
I'd never do anything that went against my conscience.
If I could fly, I would away to those realms of light and warmth – far, far away in the southern clime[…]. 1846, “A New Sentimental Journey”, in Blackwoods Magazine, volume LX, number 372:
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Without explicit condition, or with loose or vague implied condition, indicating a hypothetical or imagined state or action.
Look at that yummy cake! I would eat that all up!
I would love to come and visit.
It's a piece of old folklore for which I would love to find hard proof. 2008 November 3, Mark Cocker, “Country Diary”, in The Guardian:
Most other people would do it differently, helping anybody who was in trouble, whether they knew them or not.
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Suggesting conditionality or potentiality in order to express a sense of politeness, tentativeness, indirectness, hesitancy, uncertainty, etc.
I would imagine that they have already left.
I would ask you all to sit down.
“Those trials are being run by the American army so surely you must have access to the documents?” “Well, yeah, you’d think.” 2009, Nick Snow, The Rocket's Trail, page 112:
I would say/think we would/might do better to catch the earlier flight.
Departing on schedule with the help of a friendly doctor was quite usual. Does that still apply? It would seem so. 2010 February 2, Terry Pratchett, “My case for a euthanasia tribunal”, in The Guardian:
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used to express what the speaker would do in another person's situation, as a means of giving a suggestion or recommendation.
It's disgraceful the way that they've treated you. I would write and complain.
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used to express the speaker's belief or assumption.
They would be arriving in London round about now.
He's very security-conscious, so he would have remembered to lock the door.
She looked as if she would be sick.
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Could naturally be expected to (given the situation, the tendencies of someone's character etc.).
Sorry, officer, I wouldn't know anything about the crime, since I was nowhere near the scene.
The free access model, the media magnate said last week, was "malfunctioning". Well he would, wouldn't he? 2009 May 10, “Is the era of free news over?”, in The Observer:
(auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Used interrogatively to express a polite request; are (you) willing to …?
Just reach me down that file, would you.
Would you pass the salt, please?
(archaic, auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Might wish (+ verb in past subjunctive); often used in the first person (with or without that) in the sense of "if only".
I would she had retained her original haughtiness of disposition, or that I had a larger share of Front-de-Bœuf's thrice-tempered hardness of heart! 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
PARIS
My lord, I would that Thursday were tomorrow. c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
But as the youth increased their annoyance by declaring that the goddess was quite right, because the Emperor was Archon Eponym of the city of Athens, he said: "Would that he also presided the Panathenaic festival." 1912, Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana, translated by F. C. Conybeare (Loeb Classical Library), 8.16
I presently wished, would that I had been in their clothes! would that I had been born Peter! would that I had been born John! 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC:
KING HENRY
Thou dost not wish more help from England, coz?
WESTMORELAND
God’s will, my liege, would you and I alone,
Without more help, could fight this royal battle! 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
(archaic, auxiliary, qualifier:transitive or control verb) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. ▸ Might desire; wish (something).
What dost thou professe? What would’st thou with vs? c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
used to (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · be so good as to (used to express a polite request) · please (used to express a polite request) · kindly (used to express a polite request)
Translations (92)
sv skulle (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · pt por favor (used to express a polite request) · fr s'il vous plaît? (used to express a polite request) · sv We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · es conditional tense (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · ru Выключите (used to express a polite request) · fr pouvoir (used to express a polite request) · hu We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · nl zou (used to express a polite request) · nl a.u.b. (used to express a polite request) · fr veuillez (used to express a polite request) · es por favor? (used to express a polite request) · it per favore? (used to express a polite request) · de er sei sofort wieder da. (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · eo ke li tuj revenos. (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · pt We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · hu és azon gondolkoztunk (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · it volere (used to express a polite request) · hu -na (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · fi Tarjoilija sanoi palaavansa pian. (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · sv skulle (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · pl gdybyś nie otworzył okna! (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · nl gelieve (used to express a polite request) · as হন্তে (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · sv In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · eo We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · fr s'il te plaît? (used to express a polite request) · fi jos et olisi avannut ikkunaa! (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · hu -ne (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · ru что скоро вернется. (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · es conditional tense (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · pt Poderia desligar a televisão (used to express a polite request) · es por favor (used to express a polite request) · eo mi petas? (used to express a polite request) · sv skulle (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · pt por favor? (used to express a polite request) · nl In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · ru We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · ru пожалуйста (used to express a polite request) · it per favore? (used to express a polite request) · fr In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · de ob der Bus diesmal zu spät käme. (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · es In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · eo ĉu la buso malfruos ĉi tiun fojon. (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · de In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · ru In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · hu hogy mindjárt visszajön. (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · hu hogy kikapcsolod a tv-t? (used to express a polite request) · ro avea (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · nl zou (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · nl zouden (used to express a polite request) · hu -ná (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · hu hogy ezúttal elkésik-e a busz. (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · fr Veuillez éteindre la télévision (used to express a polite request) · hu -né (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · nl Gelieve de TV uit te schakelen (used to express a polite request) · hu és halásztunk. (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · cs kdybyste neotevřeli okno! (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · fi että hän palaa pian. (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · es ¿Podría usted apagar la televisión (used to express a polite request) · it Vuole spegnere la televisione (used to express a polite request) · it We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · ru телевизор. (used to express a polite request) · es por favor? (used to express a polite request) · eo In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · tr daha sıcak olurduk! (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · ru если бы ты не открыл окно! (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · as হেঁতেন (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · lt jei nebūtum atidaręs lango! (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · pt por favor? (used to express a polite request) · nl zou (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · tr We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · nl zou (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · ru опоздает ли автобус. (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · eo bonvoli (used to express a polite request) · hu In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · fr vouloir (used to express a polite request) · fr Pourriez-vous (used to express a polite request) · nl zouden (indicating an action in the past that was planned or intended) · tr In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · nl zouden (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · hu Megtennéd (used to express a polite request) · fi We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · nl zouden (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · fi In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · it In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · pt In the winters (indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly) · as হয় (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · de We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · pl by (indicating an action or state that is conditional on another) · fr We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state) · es We sat on the bench (indicating a possible (but not definite) future action or state)