termagant

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"Lord! what a termagant is your pretty cousin, Mr. Mallock!" said my companion when we were out of doors again.

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American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A quarrelsome, scolding woman; a shrew.
  2. adjective Shrewish; scolding.

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  • He singed Will the Arrowsmith's beard, poured a whole flagon of hot liquor in the wide hosen of Hobbe Adamson; but the enactor of St George in a more especial manner attracted his notice; he crept between his legs, and bore him right into the middle of the pig-sty, before he could be stayed; from whence the heroic champion of England issued, sorely shent with the admixtures and impurities of the place This termagant was a little broad-set figure wearing a mask, intended as a representation of his Satanic majesty, adorned with a huge pair of horns. —  Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 (of 2)
  • "Lord! what a termagant is your pretty cousin, Mr. Mallock!" said my companion when we were out of doors again. —  Oddsfish!
  • what a termagant is your pretty cousin, Mr. —  Oddsfish!
  • The other termagant was asked flatly by the magistrate if she had ever seen the inside of a jail before, but evaded the point with much grace and ingenuity by telling his Honour that he couldn't expect to meet a woman anywhere who had not suffered a misforchin somewhere betwixt the cradle and the grave The original Pass of the Plumes is near Maryborough, and was so called from the number of English helmet plumes that were strewn about after O'Moore's fight with five hundred of the Earl of Essex's men Even the all too common drunk-and-disorderly cases had a flavour of their own, for one man, being dismissed with a small fine under condition that he would sign the pledge, assented willingly; but on being asked for how long he would take it, replied, 'I mostly take it for life, your worship We also heard the testimony of a girl who had run away from her employer before the completion of her six months' contract, her plea being that the fairies pulled her great toe at night so that she could not sleep, whereupon she finally became so lame that she was unable to work. —  Penelope's Irish Experiences
  • I might have fallen for you myself if I hadn't already left my heart with a certain Spanish termagant Am I supposed to be flattered?" —  Mary Balogh - A Masked Deception
 

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Termagant has been looked up 478 times, favorited twice, listed 64 times, commented on 4 times, and has a Scrabble score of 12.

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View all »Etymologies (3)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. From Middle English Termagaunt, imaginary Muslim deity portrayed as a violent and overbearing character in medieval mystery plays, alteration of Tervagant, from Old French.

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Pronunciations

/ (tûrˈmə-gənt)/
ahd pronounces "termagant"
by American Heritage Dictionary

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