Definition 1: Colloquial. (1) Spunk, boldness, chutzpah, moxie; (2) common sense, horse sense.

Usage 1: Today's word means the same as "rumgumption" and "rumblegumption," variants that you may use should you ever need more syllables. This fake Latin noun (see Etymology) is accompanied by a fake Latin adjective, "gumptious," that describes folks with gumption.

Suggested usage: While "chutzpah" is part of the Yiddish dialect of English and "moxie" is used elsewhere in the Northeast, "gumption" is the word for these terms in the South. "Bless his soul, Henry Joe just doesn't have the gumption to ask Mabelline out to line dance." However, the word does appear widely outside the South: "It takes a lot of gumption to jump on a bungee cord."

Etymology: Today's is a mysterious word, as is so often the case with the lexical contributions of Scotland. It plays in a trio, "gumption," "rumblegumption," "rumgumption." Today's word is apparently a simplification of "rumgumption," referring to the audacity derived from overdrinking, i.e. "overly self-assertive, boisterous." It is probably a rhyme duplicate of "rum" like rumdum "in a stupor from drinking" but with the Latin suffix –tion, added by someone with their tongue in their cheek (making it difficult to pronounce). That suffix gives it a bit more of an educated tone, which might explain why its meaning is more positive than that of "rumdum." (We are certainly happy that B. J. Vinson had the gumption to send in today's word.)