virago en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /vɪˈɹɑːɡəʊ/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin virāgō (“warlike or heroic woman”, literally “manlike”).
Meanings
-
A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation.
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.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361:Joan was all Arden, grinning there, siding with her virago mother.
1964, Anthony Burgess, chapter III, in Nothing Like the Sun:
- A woman who is scolding, domineering, or highly opinionated.
- A woman who is rough, loud, and aggressive.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| viragoes | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| viragos | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
virago sleeve · viraginity · viraginous · viragolike · viraginian · viragoish
Relateds
Synonyms
termagant · jade · nudnik · crow · harpy · witch · harridan · hellcat · brim · dragon · bitch · faggot · shrew · cockatrice · scold · vixen · faggot · termagant · witch · fishwife · virago · she-devil · termagant · shrew · hellcat · cockatrice · scold · dragon · harpy · cat · nag · battle axe · fishwife · brim · shrew · vixen · crow · she-devil · harridan · cat · nag · battle axe · bitch · brimstone · virago · jade · nudnik · brimstone · shrew
Translations (35)
pt virago (rough woman) · ga stiúireachán mná (rough woman) · fr virago (rough woman) · ga maistín (mná) (rough woman) · it virago (rough woman) · ga ropaire mná (rough woman) · de Mannweib (rough woman) · ka ანჩხლი დედაკაცი (rough woman) · fi virago (rough woman) · de Zänkerin (rough woman) · fi äkäpussi (woman who is scolding) · sh nadžak-baba (rough woman) · fi äkäpussi (rough woman) · es virago (rough woman) · de Virago (rough woman) · pl megiera (rough woman) · de Flintenweib (rough woman) · pl jędza (rough woman) · pl herod-baba (rough woman) · de Krawallnudel (rough woman) · ru бо́й-ба́ба (rough woman) · ga báirseach (rough woman) · sh muškarača (rough woman) · ga rálach (rough woman) · hu cserfes nő (rough woman) · cmn 悍婦 /悍妇 (woman who is scolding) · cs dračice (rough woman) · fi amatsoni (rough woman) · fi äkäpussi (woman given to undue belligerence) · ka ჭირვეული (rough woman) · ga ainscian mná (rough woman) · ca virago (rough woman) · cmn 潑婦 /泼妇 (woman given to undue belligerence) · cmn 母夜叉 (rough woman) · bg мъжкарана (rough woman)