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July 07, 2005

nolens volens (NO-lens VO-lens) adverb

Whether willingly or unwillingly (mostly the latter), willy-nilly.
[From Latin, from nolens, present participle of nolle (to be unwilling) + volens, present participle of velle (to wish or to be willing).]
"Prince Duong-Chaer, third son of King Norodom of Cambodia, was yesterday compelled nolens volens to leave Paris for Algeria." In Our Pages; International Herald Tribune (Paris, France); Aug 27, 1993.
This week's theme: terms from Latin.

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http://wordsmith.org/words/nolens_volens.html

Posted by Keya at July 7, 2005 06:12 PM
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