Viragoes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A strong, brave woman who often exhibits masculine traits
2. a term historically used to describe a woman who is assertive or aggressive
3. a figure representing feministic strength and defiance against traditional gender roles

Etymology: The plural "viragoes" is the form of "virago", which English borrowed from Latin "virāgō", a word meaning "warlike or heroic woman". The Latin is built from "vir", "man", so the literal sense is "manlike", a woman who displayed the qualities Romans associated with men. That is why the word once praised courage rather than condemning temper. Its modern sense of a fierce, domineering woman is a later narrowing, and the plural simply follows the usual rule for nouns ending in "o".

Synonyms: battle-axe, shrew