Omwille

Omwille is a Dutch noun used primarily in older or formal registers to denote the motive, purpose, or benefit behind an action. It occurs in the phrase omwille van meaning “for the sake of” or “in the interest of.” The term is etymologically a compound of om (for) and wille (will, desire), tracing back to Middle Dutch. In contemporary Dutch, omwille as a standalone noun is uncommon, and modern writers usually prefer ten behoeve van, uit oogpunt van, or simply rely on the prepositional phrase omwille van to convey the sense of justification or motive.

Historically, omwille appears in religious, legal, and moral discourse, where it introduced normative reasoning or justification. For example, seventeenth‑century legislative texts might frame provisions omwille van het algemeen belang. In modern usage, the expression survives in poetry or formal prose but is rarely used in everyday speech.

Variants and related forms include the bound phrase omwille van and, less commonly, historical spellings such as om wille found in earlier texts. Etymology notes that wille is related to will in English and to Dutch wil in modern usage. The term is characteristic of a more formal or archaic register and is generally encountered in historical documents, legal writing, or literary contexts rather than in contemporary everyday Dutch.