# moxie

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmɒksi/ · frequency rank #50,083

## Definitions
1. Nerve, spunk, strength of character.
2. Verve.
3. Wit, smarts, skill.

## Etymology
First recorded use in 1930. From the name of an American soft drink Moxie made since 1885 to which advertisement ascribed many beneficial properties directly but also indirectly by using the same name as a patent medicine first manufactured in 1878. The word appears in very many place names in Maine, especially of falls and ponds, as well as the local name of a plant, the moxie-plum, and is perhaps ultimately from an Abenaki word meaning 'dark water' or an Algonquian root maski- meaning 'herbal infusion'.

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