(ˈ) ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English good will
1.
a. : kindly feeling : well-wishing , benevolence , friendliness
none of us have anything but goodwill toward you personally — Ralph Ellison
a happy man … is a radiating focus of goodwill — R.L.Stevenson
a goodwill tour of seven European capitals — C.B.Palmer b.1910
b. : the custom of a trade or business : the favor or advantage in the way of custom that a business has acquired beyond the mere value of what it sells whether due to the personality of those conducting it, the nature of its location, its reputation for skill or promptitude, or any other circumstance incidental to the business and tending to make it permanent
c. : the capitalized value of the excess of estimated future profits of a business over the rate of return on capital considered normal in the related industry
d. : the excess of the purchase price of a business over and above the value assigned to its net assets exclusive of goodwill
2.
a. : cheerful consent
they accepted their new burdens with surprising goodwill
b. : heartiness , zeal : willing effort
the need is for mind to be applied … with the particular joy and goodwill of creativeness — Lionel Trilling
with a little goodwill , two other major philosophic strategies can be derived — K.D.Burke
3. usually good will : a will acting freely from pure disinterested motives
the concept of the good will is ultimately the concept of the formal will — R.D.Mack