Gumption

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gumption \Gump"tion\, n. [OE. gom, gome, attention; akin to AS.
     ge['o]mian, gyman, to regard, observe, gyme care, OS. gomean
     to heed, Goth. gaumjan to see, notice.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. Capacity; shrewdness; common sense. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]


  
              One does not have gumption till one has been
              properly cheated.                     --Lord Lytton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Paint.)
        (a) The art of preparing colors. --Sir W. Scott.
        (b) Megilp. --Fairholt.
  
     3. initiative; resourcefulness.
        [PJC]
  
     4. Courage; guts.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  gumption
       n 1: sound practical judgment; "I can't see the sense in doing it
            now"; "he hasn't got the sense God gave little green
            apples"; "fortunately she had the good sense to run
            away" [syn: {common sense}, {good sense}, {horse sense},
             {sense}, {mother wit}]
       2: fortitude and determination; "he didn't have the guts to try
          it" [syn: {backbone}, {grit}, {guts}, {moxie}, {sand}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "gumption":
     adventuresomeness, adventurousness, aggression, aggressiveness,
     ambitiousness, astuteness, audacity, backbone, balls, boldness,
     bottle, brains, cleverness, common sense, courage, daring, drive,
     dynamism, energy, enterprise, enterprisingness, force,
     forcefulness, gameness, get-up-and-get, get-up-and-go, getup, go,
     go-ahead, go-getting, go-to-itiveness, good sense, grit, guts,
     horse sense, hustle, initiative, judgement, judgment, mettle,
     mother wit, moxie, nerve, nous, perspicaciousness, perspicacity,
     pluck, push, pushfulness, pushiness, pushingness, resourcefulness,
     sagaciousness, sagacity, shrewdness, spirit, spunk, stamina,
     up-and-comingness, venturesomeness, venturousness, vigor, wisdom