goodwill
(gʊdˈwɪl)
[Orig. two words (still often so written exc. in sense 4 b): see good a. 5, 7.]
† 1. Virtuous, pious, or upright disposition or intention. Obs.
In the pre-Reformation versions of Luke ii. 14, which follow the Vulgate, the phrase good will has the above sense. The 16th c. versions and that of 1611, following the ‘received’ Gr. text, retain the phrase, but use it in sense 2. The Revised Version of 1881 adopts the Gr. text presupposed by the Vulgate, but renders ‘On earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased’.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. vi. viii, He [Titus] wæs swa godes willan þæt [etc.]. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke ii. 14 Wuldor In heannisum gode & In eorðo sibb monnum godes willo. [So 1382–8 Wyclif, In erthe pees be to men of good wille.] a 1300 Cursor M. 502 Angelis..mai neuermar held til il, Namar þan þe wick mai to god will. c 1500 Melusine lxii. 371 In som cas the good wylle of a man is accepted for the dede. 1602 J. Davies Mirum in modum (Grosart) 15/1 The foe can foile..With Pride our Piety, and our good-will. |
2. The state of wishing well to a person, a cause, etc.; favourable or kindly regard; favour, benevolence.
attrib.| c 825 Vesp. Psalter v. 13 Mid scelde godes willan ðines ðu ᵹebeᵹades usic. a 1225 Ancr. R. 282 So muchel strencðe haueð luue & god wil þet hit makeð oðres god ure god. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop ii. iii, Thow castest not this brede for no good wylle but only to the ende that I hold my pees. 1535 Coverdale Luke ii. 14 Peace vpon earth, and vnto men a good wyll. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 34 To win the love and good-wils of the people. 1611 Bible Luke ii. 14. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. iii. 15 To helpe to tugge me a shore, at the Hauen of your goodwils. 1710 Shaftesbury Adv. Author i. i. 2 In all other respects to give, and to dispense, is Generosity and Good-will. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. (1783) II. 227 After repeated endeavours to conciliate their good-will, he was constrained to have recourse to violence. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxiv, The great event which brought peace on earth, and good⁓will to the children of men. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 459 Some pious men..spoke of him, not indeed with esteem, yet with goodwill. |
| attrib. 1820 Shelley Hymn Merc. xc, And I will give thee as a good-will token The beautiful wand of wealth and happiness. a 1832 Bentham Deontol. (1834) II. 263 Correspondent to that same good-will fund there is an ill-will fund. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 20 Feb. 3/2 A large number of ‘goodwill’ workers are..enlisted. 1935 Economist 18 May 1125/2 A lesser American naval squadron is making a ‘goodwill tour’ in Japanese waters. 1936 Daily Mirror 22 Mar. 9/1 Welsh children will broadcast their ‘Goodwill Day’ peace message to the World on May 18th. 1947 Ann. Reg. 1946 222 In July the British Labour Party sent a ‘goodwill’ mission to Moscow. 1961 Listener 21 Dec. 1081/2 President Kennedy arrives in Caracas..at start of a ‘goodwill’ tour of Latin America. |
3. a. Cheerful acquiescence or consent.
† b. of, by, with one's (own) goodwill: voluntarily, without constraint (
cf. freewill 1).
c. Heartiness, readiness, zeal.
| a. c 1300 Cursor M. 25180 (Cott. Galba) Forþi what so god sendes vs till Vs aw to suffer it with gude will. a 1400–50 Alexander 804* (Dublin MS.) Þat graunt I gladly..with a gode wille. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 771 The Lorde Cardinall shoulde first assay to get him with her good wyll. 1620 Shelton Quix. iii. vii. I. 180 Seek not to get that with a Good-will, which thou art wont to take perforce. 1766 Goldsm. Hermit 16 And, though my portion is but scant, I give it with good will. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xx, With my good-will, you shall build your ramparts of gold. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. vi. (1852) 297 [They] pay such duties..with greater good will than any other impost whatever. 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. xiv. 142 No prises of corn..or other goods, shall be taken without the goodwill of their owners. |
| b. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxi. 96 Fischez þat hase all þe see at will to swymme in schall with þaire awen gude will come þider. 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. xxxv. 8 His prynces of their awne good wyll gaue to the Heueofferynge for the people. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 370 Therfore he was come of his awne good will to do some good. 1668 Temple Let. to Ld. Keeper Wks. 1731 II. 103, I..would by my Good-will eat dry Crusts, and lie upon the Floor, rather than do it upon any other Consideration, than of his Majesty's immediate Commands. 1816 Jane Austen Emma II. xiv. 265 Augusta, I believe, with her own good will, would never stir beyond the park paling. |
| c. a 1300 Cursor M. 11153 Godd will he had to fle hir fra. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 1843 Lybeauus wyth goodwyll Into hys sadell gan skyll, And a launce yn hond he hent. 1486 Bk. St. Albans E v b, Yf ye se yowre howndes haue goode will to renne. 1805 Wordsw. Waggoner i. 40 The Horses have worked with right good-will. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 151 He set himself, therefore, to labour, with real good will. |
4. † a. Permission to enjoy the use (of a tenement).
Obs.—1| 1562 Child-Marriages 10 Andrewe Haworthes father..did obteyne the Landlordes goodwill of the Tenement wherein the father of the said Custance did dwell. |
b. Comm. The privilege, granted by the seller of a business to the purchaser, of trading as his recognized successor; the possession of a ready-formed ‘connexion’ of customers, considered as an element in the saleable value of a business, additional to the value of the plant, stock-in-trade, book-debts, etc.
| 1571 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 352, I gyue to John Stephen..my whole interest and good will of my Quarrell [i.e. quarry]. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iv, Having given a hundred pounds for my predecessor's goodwill. 1786 Lounger No. 79 On her marriage with the knight she had sold the good-will of her shop and warehouse. 1836 Marryat Japhet vii, The shop, fixtures, stock-in-trade, and goodwill, were all the property of our ancient antagonist. 1863 Fawcett Pol. Econ. iv. ii. (1876) 536 A solicitor can either sell the good-will of his business, or leave it to his children. |