moxie

Meaning

Noun

• Nerve, spunk, strength of character.
• Verve.
• Wit, smarts, skill.

Origin

• First recorded use in 1930. From the name of an American soft drink 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, and is perhaps ultimately from Abenaki.