Virago

Pronunciation

• IPA: /vɪˈrɑːɡəʊ/

Origin

From Latin virago ("warlike or heroic woman").

Full definition of virago

Noun

1. (said of a woman) Given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation; a shrew, a termagant.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 22, Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head.
2. (said of a woman) Scolding, domineering, highly opinionated; a fishwife, a nag.
3. (said of a woman) Rough, loud, and aggressive.

Adjective

1. Pertaining to a virago.
• 1964, Joan was all Arden, grinning there, siding with her virago mother. — Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun

Derived terms

• viraginity
• viraginous