intangible asset is referred to as?

Answer 1

Often as Goodwill

Answer 2

Well...if you are asking, what intangible assets mean, here's your answer.

Let us first define tangible assets first - assets like buildings, cars, even cash and bank balance are tangible assetsas they have a physical form. You can see them, touch them.

Let us presume a company which has been selling soaps for long and is quite well known for its quality soaps. It has a goodwill in the market which enables it to charge a premium pricing from its customers. It may have patents for some soap formulations which only it can manufacture and sell.
these patents, goodwill etc...are intangible assets. They are owned by the company (or for that matter even an individual), they help the company to earn more, but you actually cannot have them in a physical form.

Thus "intangible" assets.