Meaning

noun (accounting) an intangible asset valued according to the advantage or reputation a business has acquired (over and above its tangible assets)

noun the friendly hope that something will succeed

noun a disposition to kindness and compassion

originFrom Middle English *goodwille, good wille, possibly from Old English *gōdwille (compare gōdwillende (“well-pleased”)). Compare also Scots guidwilly, guidwillie (“displaying goodwill”). By surface analysis, good + will. Cognate with Scots guidwill (“goodwill”), Middle Low German gūtwille (“goodwill”), Old High German guotwilligi (“goodwill”), Old Danish godvilje (“goodwill”), Icelandic góðvilji,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0