Today's Word

Gumption

[GUMP-shun]

Definition

(noun) A spirited initiative, resourcefulness, courage, and common sense. It describes a person’s ability to get things done with energy and determination, often in the face of difficulties or challenges.

Example

Despite facing numerous setbacks, the young entrepreneur showed real gumption by persevering and eventually turning her small start-up into a successful business.

Fun Fact

The word “gumption” is believed to have originated in Scotland in the early 1700s. Its exact etymology is uncertain, but some linguists suggest it might be related to the Middle English word “gome,” meaning “attention” or “heed.” The term gained popularity in American English during the 19th century, where it came to embody the spirit of self-reliance and initiative often associated with frontier life.

Previous Words

Fervent

Today's Word

Fervent

FUR-vunt

Definition

(adjective) Having or displaying a passionate intensity of feeling; deeply sincere and earnest in a way that is impossible to fake.

Example

She wasn’t merely enthusiastic about the cause — she was fervent, the kind of committed that makes people slightly uncomfortable and slightly inspired at the same time.

Word Origin

Fervent derives from the Latin fervens, meaning “boiling” or “glowing,” the present participle of fervere — “to boil” or “to glow with heat.” The same root gives us fervor, fervid, and effervescent — all words built around heat as the physical metaphor for intensity of feeling. It entered English in the 14th century through Old French, used initially in religious contexts to describe the burning sincerity of devotion before expanding into its broader sense of any passion too genuine and too hot to be performed.

Fun Fact

The relationship between fervor and persuasion has a complicated history. Aristotle identified pathos — emotional appeal — as one of the three pillars of rhetoric, alongside logos (logic) and ethos (credibility). But he was careful to distinguish genuine passion from performed passion, arguing that audiences could detect the difference and that fervent speakers were more persuasive precisely because their feeling was real. Modern research broadly confirms this: studies on charismatic leadership consistently find that perceived sincerity — the sense that someone actually means what they’re saying — is more persuasive than eloquence, intelligence, or even factual accuracy, which explains a great deal about political history.

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Gumption

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Fervent

Fervent

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Fervent

Cerebral

Amalgamate

Turpitude

Dour