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Sep 15, 2009
This week's themeEponyms This week's words Beau Brummell termagant pleiad Gordon Bennett pasquinade 
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with Anu Gargtermagant
PRONUNCIATION:
(TER-muh-guhnt)
MEANING:
noun:
A quarrelsome or overbearing woman.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French Tervagant. The word comes from the name of an imaginary deity
that Christians in medieval Europe erroneously believed was worshiped by
Muslims. It was represented in morality plays as a violent, overbearing
personage. Over time the term became generalized to apply to any brawling
person, and eventually only to women.
USAGE:
"[Mrs. Lincoln], the wife of one of our most beloved presidents, has
been characterized as a sharp-tongued termagant who made her husband's
life miserable."Larry Eskridge; The Tragedy of Mary Lincoln; The Daily Ledger (Canton, Illinois); May 16, 2009. See more usage examples of termagant in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
All I ask is this: Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause -- there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once. -Joss Whedon, writer and film director (b. 1964)
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