virago

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin virāgō (“warlike or heroic woman”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɪˈɹɑːɡəʊ/
• Hyphenation: vi‧ra‧go

Noun

virago (plural viragos or viragoes)

1. A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation; a shrew, a termagant.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     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. A woman who is scolding, domineering, or highly opinionated.
3. A woman who is rough, loud, and aggressive.

Quotations

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

Synonyms

• (belligerent woman): For semantic relationships of this term, see shrew in the Thesaurus.
• (domineering woman): For semantic relationships of this term, see shrew in the Thesaurus.
• (loud woman):

Derived terms

• viraginity
• viraginous

Translations

rough woman

• French: virago (fr) f
• Irish: ainscian mná f, maistín mná m, ropaire mná m, stiúireachán mná m, báirseach f, rálach f
• Portuguese: virago (pt) f

• Russian: бо́й-ба́ба (ru) f (bój-bába)
• Spanish: virago (es) f

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Italian

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: vi‧ra‧go

Noun

virago f (invariable or literary plural: viragini)

1. amazon

Anagrams

• argivo, giravo, rigavo, rogavi, vagirò

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Latin

Etymology

From vir (“man”) +‎ -āgō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /wiˈraː.ɡoː/, [wɪˈraː.ɡoː]

Noun

virāgō f (genitive virāginis); third declension

1. a warlike woman

Inflection

Third declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	virāgō	virāginēs
genitive	virāginis	virāginum
dative	virāginī	virāginibus
accusative	virāginem	virāginēs
ablative	virāgine	virāginibus
vocative	virāgō	virāginēs

Descendants

• → English: virago
• → French: virago

References

• virago in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• virago in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• du Cange, Charles (1883), “virago”, in G. A. Louis Henschel, Pierre Carpentier, Léopold Favre, editors, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (in Latin), Niort: L. Favre
• virago in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français [Illustrated Latin-French Dictionary], Hachette

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin virāgō.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: vi‧ra‧go

Noun

virago f (plural viragos)

1. (pejorative) a manly woman