virago

[vi-rah-goh, -rey-]

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noun, plural vi·ra·goes, vi·ra·gos.

a loud-voiced, ill-tempered, scolding woman; shrew.
Archaic. a woman of strength or spirit.

Origin of virago

before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin virāgō, equivalent to vir man + -āgō suffix expressing association of some kind, here resemblance

Synonyms for virago

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1. scold, nag, termagant, harpy, Xanthippe.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for virago

shrew, vixen, scold, harpy, termagant, beldame, amazon, fishwife

Examples from the Web for virago

Historical Examples of virago

He would have crimsoned to the eyes, no doubt, and fled from the virago.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
I got a dispatch from, him quoting the Virago of Paris—meaning the Figaro, of course.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 8, May 21, 1870
Various
Ah, you coolly come, with that virago on your arm, to make a fool of me before everyone.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
When he returned he found the virago awaiting him at the door.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II (of 2)
Alexandre Dumas pre
On which the virago says to her victim, "My dear, I thocht it was yersel'!"
The Book-Hunter
John Hill Burton

British Dictionary definitions for virago

virago

noun plural -goes or -gos

a loud, violent, and ill-tempered woman; scold; shrew
archaic a strong, brave, or warlike woman; amazon

Derived Formsviraginous (vɪˈrædʒɪnəs), adjectivevirago-like, adjective

Word Origin for virago

Old English, from Latin: a manlike maiden, from vir a man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for virago

late 14c., "man-like or heroic woman," from Latin virago, 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.