termagant


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Related to termagant: ossifying, hobbyhorse

ter·ma·gant

 (tûr′mə-gənt)
n.
A woman regarded as quarrelsome or scolding; a shrew.
adj.
Shrewish; scolding.

[From Middle English Termagaunt, imaginary Muslim deity portrayed as a violent and overbearing character in medieval mystery plays, alteration of Tervagant, from Old French.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

termagant

(ˈtɜːməɡənt)
n
(Literary & Literary Critical Terms)
a. a shrewish woman; scold
b. (as modifier): a termagant woman.
[C13: from earlier Tervagaunt, from Old French Tervagan, from Italian Trivigante; after an arrogant character in medieval mystery plays who was supposed to be a Muslim deity]
ˈtermagancy n
ˈtermagantly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ter•ma•gant

(ˈtɜr mə gənt)

n.
1. a violent, turbulent, or brawling woman.
2. (cap.) a mythical deity believed in the Middle Ages to be worshiped by the Muslims: portrayed in morality plays as a violent, overbearing personage.
adj.
3. violent; turbulent; shrewish.
[1175–1225; Middle English Termagaunt, earlier Tervagaunt, alter. of Old French Tervagan]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.termagant - a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
disagreeable woman, unpleasant woman - a woman who is an unpleasant person
virago - a noisy or scolding or domineering woman
yenta - (Yiddish) a vulgar shrew; a shallow coarse termagant
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

termagant

noun
A person, traditionally a woman, who persistently nags or criticizes:
Informal: battle-ax.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

termagant

[ˈtɜːməgənt] Narpía f, fiera f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

termagant

nFurie f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
The magic of money transformed this termagant and terrible person into a docile and attentive nurse--so eager to follow my instructions exactly that she begged me to commit them to writing before I went away.
With that thought, however, came a mental picture of Naratu, the black termagant, who ruled him with an iron hand.
The effect of his indifference began to extend itself to the other spectators; and a youngster, who was just quitting the condition of a boy to enter the state of manhood, attempted to assist the termagant, by flourishing his tomahawk before their victim, and adding his empty boasts to the taunts of the women.
Never suppose that she was a termagant or a shrew for all this; she had the kindliest heart in the world, and acted towards me in particular in a truly maternal manner, occasionally putting some little morsel of choice food,into my hand, some outlandish kind of savage sweetmeat or pastry, like a doting mother petting a sickly urchin with tarts and sugar plums.
These several duties were soon performed, and, as darkness now began to conceal the objects on the surrounding prairie, the shrill-toned termagant, whose voice since the halt had been diligently exercised among her idle and drowsy offspring, announced, in tones that might have been heard at a dangerous distance, that the evening meal waited only for the approach of those who were to consume it.
We gods are continually suffering in the most cruel manner at one another's hands while helping mortals; and we all owe you a grudge for having begotten that mad termagant of a daughter, who is always committing outrage of some kind.
"And the woman was a termagant - at least so I've been told.
In all of them, termagant, flirt, crank, washerwoman, blue-stocking, outcast and even in the ordinary fool of the ordinary commerce there is something left, if only a spark.
"I must and will go," Amelia cried with the greatest spirit; and George, applauding her resolution, patted her under the chin, and asked all the persons present if they ever saw such a termagant of a wife, and agreed that the lady should bear him company.
In Washington Irving's story Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist goes hunting to escape the sharp tongue of his termagant wife, and falls asleep in the woods for twenty years.
An excellent evening, no sign of the termagant. Good food, ambiance, service and management.
He was a leading seaman gunner on destroyer HMS Termagant when U-453 was spotted off the coast of Calabria, southern Italy, on May 21, 1944.