different between gumption vs acumen

English

Etymology

From Scots gumption (“common sense, shrewdness; drive, initiative”); further etymology unknown, possibly connected with Middle English gome (“attention, heed”), from Old Norse gaumr (“attention, heed”). English cognates include gaum (“to comprehend, understand”) and goam (“to recognize, see”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???mp??n/
• Hyphenation: gump?tion

Noun

gumption (usually uncountable, plural gumptions)

1. (Britain) Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness. [from early 18th c.]

   Synonym: gumph
2. (US) Boldness of enterprise; aggressiveness or initiative.

   Synonyms: chutzpah, gumph, guts, spunk
3. (US) Energy of body and mind, enthusiasm.

   Synonym: gumph

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• gumption on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• gumption in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• gumption at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “gumption”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ac?men (“sharp point”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ækj?m?n/, /??kju?m?n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??kjum?n/, /?ækj?m?n/
• (US, rare) IPA^(key): /æ?kjum?n/, /?ækj??m?n/

Noun

acumen (usually uncountable, plural acumens)

1. Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination.

   Synonyms: sharpness, penetration, keenness, shrewdness, acuteness, acuity, wit, foxiness, intelligence, canniness
2. (botany) A sharp, tapering point extending from a plant.
3. (anatomy) A bony, often sharp, protuberance, especially that of the ischium.

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• acumen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Latin

Etymology

From acu? (“make sharp or pointed, sharpen”) +? -men (noun-forming suffix), from acus (“a needle, a pin”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /a?ku?.men/, [ä?ku?m?n]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a?ku.men/, [??ku?m?n]

Noun

ac?men n (genitive ac?minis); third declension

1. a sharpened point

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Derived terms

• ac?min?rius
• ac?min?

Related terms

Descendants

• Galician: gume
• Portuguese: gume

• ? English: acumen
• ? Italian: acume
• ? Portuguese: acume, acúmen
• ? Spanish: acumen

References

• acumen in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• acumen in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• acumen in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[7], London: Macmillan and Co.