Gumption is spirit, courage, spunk, boldness, and initiative. If someone tells you that you’ve got gumption, you should thank them, and then walk a little taller, because you’ve received a lovely Southern compliment. Southerners adopted this phrase wholeheartedly from its early usages in 1700s England and Scotland (where it meant “common sense”). In the 1900s, the word evolved, taking on a Southern spin as well as new meanings such as “courage” and “get-up-and-go.”
