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Added 8 October 2026

gumption

/ˈɡʌmpʃən/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gumption at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Sound practical judgment.
Common sense is not so common
Fortitude and determination.
he didn't have the guts to try it

Origin

Borrowed from Scots gumption (“common sense, shrewdness; drive, initiative”); further etymology unknown, possibly connected with Middle English gome (“attention, heed”), from Old Norse gaumr (“attention, heed”), from Proto-Germanic *gaumō. English cognates include gaum (“to comprehend, understand”) and goam (“to recognize, see”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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