moxie

/ˈmɒksi/

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'.

moxie means nerve, spunk, strength of character. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 72 out of 100.

moxie is pronounced /ˈmɒksi/.

Why “moxie” is a great word

MOXIE — [Noun] Force of character, determination, and spirited nerve. From the proprietary name Moxie, a soft drink first sold in 1885 (named for an earlier patent medicine) whose advertising promoted it as building vigor and nerve; the name itself is perhaps from an Abenaki word meaning 'dark water' or an Algonquian root meaning 'herbal infusion'. First recorded in the sense of 'courage' in 1930. Unlike "audacity," which can shade into disrespect, or "fortitude," which connotes stoic endurance, moxie is an active, admirable grit and initiative. It is the kid who sells lemonade on the wrong side of town, the unflinching stare of an entrepreneur opening her shop at dawn, and the stubborn, hopeful posture of someone marching into a headwind—a belief, tonic and bitter, that nerve itself can be a form of propulsion.

noun

Nerve, spunk, strength of character.““Most definitely not!” replied Ms. Summers, who quickly added that she admired the woman’s moxie and, anyway, the day was hot.”
Verve.“As a girl she had speed and a knock-kneed moxie at athletics, and might have done more with it if she hadn't harvested all the glory already.”
Wit, smarts, skill.