termagant

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: ter=ma=gant

CIDE DICTIONARY

termagant, n. [OE. Trivigant, Termagant, Termagant (in sense 1), OF. Tervagan; cf. It. Trivigante.].

•  An imaginary being supposed by the Christians to be a Moslem deity or false god. He is represented in the ancient moralities, farces, and puppet shows as extremely vociferous and tumultous.  [1913 Webster]

  "The lesser part on Christ believed well,
  On Termagant the more, and on Mahound."  [1913 Webster]
•  A boisterous, brawling, turbulent person; -- formerly applied to both sexes, now only to women.  [1913 Webster]

  "This terrible termagant, this Nero, this Pharaoh."  [1913 Webster]

  "The slave of an imperious and reckless termagant."  [1913 Webster]

termagant, a. 

 Tumultuous; turbulent; boisterous; furious; quarrelsome; scolding.  [1913 Webster]
"A termagant, imperious, prodigal, profligate wench."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

termagant, n. & adj.
--n.
1 an overbearing or brawling woman; a virago or shrew.
2 (Termagant) hist. an imaginary deity of violent and turbulent character, often appearing in morality plays.
--adj. violent, turbulent, shrewish.

Etymology

ME Tervagant f. OF Tervagan f. It. Trivigante

THESAURUS

termagant

Jezebel, Mafioso, Xanthippe, Young Turk, amazon, battle-ax, beast, beldam, berserk, berserker, bitch, bitch-kitty, boisterous, bomber, brute, cat, common scold, demon, devil, disorderly, dragon, fiend, fire-eater, firebrand, fishwife, fury, goon, gorilla, grimalkin, gunsel, hag, hardnose, harpy, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhag, hellhound, hellion, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hothead, hotspur, incendiary, killer, limitable, mad dog, madcap, monster, mugger, ogress, rapist, raucous, revolutionary, rowdy, rowdyish, rumbustious, savage, scold, she-devil, she-wolf, shrew, siren, spitfire, terror, terrorist, tiger, tigress, tough, tough guy, tumultuous, ugly customer, unruly, violent, virago, vixen, wild beast, wildcat, witch, wolf

ROGET THESAURUS

termagant

Irascibility

N irascibility, irascibleness, temper, crossness, susceptibility, procacity, petulance, irritability, tartness, acerbity, protervity, pugnacity, excitability, bad temper, fiery temper, crooked temper, irritable, temper, genus irritabile, hot blood, ill humor, asperity, churlishness, huff, a word and a blow, Sir Fretful Plagiary, brabbler, Tartar, shrew, vixen, virago, termagant, dragon, scold, Xantippe, porcupine, spitfire, fire eater, fury, irascible, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, irritable, susceptible, excitable, thin-skinned, fretful, fidgety, on the fret, hasty, overhasty, quick, warm, hot, testy, touchy, techy, tetchy, like touchwood, like tinder, huffy, pettish, petulant, waspish, snappish, peppery, fiery, passionate, choleric, shrewish, sudden and quick in quarrel, querulous, captious, moodish, quarrelsome, contentious, disputatious, pugnacious, cantankerous, exceptious, restiff, churlish, cross, cross as crabs, cross as two sticks, cross as a cat, cross as a dog, cross as the tongs, fractious, peevish, acari=atre, in a bad temper, sulky, angry, resentful, resentive, vindictive, Int, pish!, a vieux comptes nouvelles disputes, quamvis tegatur proditur vultu furor, vino tortus et ira.