# gumption

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡʌmpʃən/ · frequency rank #60,137

## Definitions
1. Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness.
2. Boldness of enterprise; aggressiveness or initiative.
3. Energy of body and mind, enthusiasm.

## Etymology
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”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gumption