English
virago
Virago comes from Latin virāgō ‘warlike or heroic woman’, from vir ‘man’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wiHrós‘man’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiros‘a man’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvir‘man’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirāgō‘warlike or heroic woman’literally ‘manlike’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918virago
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wiHrós‘man’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiros‘a man’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvir‘man’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirāgō‘warlike or heroic woman’literally ‘manlike’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918virago
Earliest quotation: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.…”
The story
Borrowed from Latin virāgō (“warlike or heroic woman”, literally “manlike”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to chase, pursue’
previous, obvious, violent, violation, inevitable, convey, vengeance, voyage, violate, envoy, trivial, avenge, trivia, deviation, vis, venison, deviant, vindication, ochre, viaduct, vim, violator, inviolable, trivium, obviate, 54 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós ‘man’
through Latin vir ‘man’
virtual, virtue, virtuous, virtuoso, virile, virility, 5 more
Today it means
noun A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós / virago