Meanings
plural goodwillers
- One who practices or engages in goodwill, or who acts out of goodwill; one who bestows favours; a benefactor; volunteer
Outnumbered by earnest goodwillers, he agrees to visit the Queen.
2013, Susann Cokal, The Kingdom of Little Wounds - Page 1064 more examples
“The Earl of Douglas, being a young nobleman of good inclination, wiser perchance than any other of equal age with him, would neither give ear to his goodwillers and favourers, nor yet was he content with them that gave the counsel to turn homeward again, but reprove them highly; [...]
1808, John Finlay, Scottish Historical and Romantic balladsIt appears by the testimony in a suit in 1619, that John Gale, son of Richard, was in 1677, "a goodwiller" to the daughter of Henry Spring, senior, who, with his wife Mehitable, testified that " Goodman Richard Gale came to our house to ask our goodwill to make a match …
1864, The New England Historical & Genealogical RegisterCuriosity wasn't a goodwiller in that it tried to consume him completely.
2012, Thomas D. Bryson, The Psychotic Preschoolers - Page 64And yet...and yet, the goodwillers cried, something was being misunderstood: Humanity was surely better than this! No! [...]
2014, George Zebrowski, Brute Orbits
Origin
Perhaps an alteration of goodwilly, or from goodwill + -er.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
goodwiller. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goodwiller
“goodwiller.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goodwiller. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “goodwiller,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goodwiller.
Source: goodwiller on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.