Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

virago

 - 3 dictionary results

vi⋅ra⋅go

[vi-rah-goh, -rey-]
–noun, plural -goes, -gos.
1. a loud-voiced, ill-tempered, scolding woman; shrew.
2. Archaic. a woman of strength or spirit.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME, OE < L virāgō, equiv. to vir man + -āgō suffix expressing association of some kind, here resemblance


1. scold, nag, termagant, harpy, Xanthippe.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To virago
vi·ra·go   (və-rä'gō, -rā'-, vîr'ə-gō')   
n.   pl. vi·ra·goes or vi·ra·gos
  1. A woman regarded as noisy, scolding, or domineering.

  2. A large, strong, courageous woman.


[Latin virāgō, from vir, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots.]
vi·rag'i·nous (və-rāj'ə-nəs) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

virago 
1387, "man-like or heroic woman," from L., from vir "man" (see virile). Ælfric (c.1000), following Vulgate, used it in Gen. ii.23 (KJV = woman):
Beo hire nama Uirago, þæt is, fæmne, forðan ðe heo is of hire were genumen.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see virago on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: