volia

• volya

Borrowed from Russian во́ля (vólja) or Ukrainian во́ля (vólja).

volia (uncountable)

1. (in Russian contexts) freedom; lack of restraint or constriction.
   • 1995, Daniel Rancour-Laferriere, The Slave Soul of Russia, page 198:

     The new restrictions being placed on the bride added up to a loss of her former “volia”.

   • 1996, Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy, Folio Society, published 2013, page 115:

     The educated classes had always feared that a peasant volia would soon degenerate into anarchic licence and violent revenge against figures of authority.

   • 2001, Geoffrey Hosking, Russia and the Russians, page 229:

     Their integration into the imperial army was causing concern and resentment among the rank and file, who feared losing their volia and their participatory institutions.

2. (in Ukrainian contexts) liberty; independence, the right of individuals to choose their own goals.
   • 2023, What is volia, the Ukrainian superpower, that keeps us going?:

     Volia, as longing for freedom – freedom of thoughts, beliefs, and acts – is what helped to form and preserve the Ukrainian nation.

   • 2024, Oksana Voytko, Volia — collective concept, most often translated as Freedom:

     The history of Ukrainian resistance stands as a vivid example of the expression of volia.

• Ivalo, Viola, oliva, viola, voila, voilà

volia

1. first/third-person singular imperfect indicative of voler

volia

1. to buy, to purchase
2. to redeem, to ransom
3. to compensate