Allow us, if you will, to volunteer our knowledge about velleity. It is a derivative of the New Latin noun velleitas, from the Latin verb velle, meaning “to wish or will.” You might also wish to know that velle is the word that gave us voluntary (by way of Anglo-French voluntarie and Latin voluntarius) and volunteer (by way of French voluntaire). While both of those words might imply a wish to do something (specifically, to offer one’s help) and the will to act upon it, the less common velleity typically refers to a wish or inclination that is so insignificant that a person feels little or no compulsion to act.