moxie
pronunciation
How to pronounce moxie in British English:
UK [ˈmɒksi]
How to pronounce moxie in American English:
US [ˈmɑksi]
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- Noun:
- fortitude and determination
Word Origin
- moxie (n.)
- "courage," 1930, from Moxie, brand name of a bitter, non-alcoholic drink, 1885, perhaps as far back as 1876 as the name of a patent medicine advertised to "build up your nerve;" despite legendary origin stories put out by the company that made it, it is perhaps ultimately from a New England Indian word (it figures in river and lake names in Maine, where it is apparently from Abenaki and means "dark water"). Much-imitated in its day; in 1917 the Moxie Company won an infringement suit against a competitor's beverage marketed as "Proxie."
Example
- 1. I like your moxie .
- 2. I love a client with some chutzpah , some moxie , right ?
- 3. You 're admiring my moxie , aren 't you .