Volition is defined as the power to make one's own choices or decisions. It is a formal word, often used with "own," as in "of her own volition." An example sentence illustrates this, stating every choice made was of their own volition, not due to outside influence. The text provides an example of worms crawling into a birdbath on their own volition. This means the worms acted voluntarily, without external compulsion. Both volition and voluntary share roots in the Latin word "velle," meaning "to wish" or "to will." English adopted volition from French in the 17th century. Initially, it referred to an act of choosing. Herman Melville used this older meaning in Moby-Dick. However, volition also developed the more common meaning of the power to choose.