termagant

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɜːməɡ(ə)nt/
  Play
• General-American: /ˈtɜɹməɡənt/
  Play
• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play

PIE word *tréyes The noun is derived from Termagant (“fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians”), from Middle English Termagaunt (“fictitious deity represented as being worshipped by Muslims; any pagan god”), from Anglo-Norman Tervagant, Tervagaunt, Tervagan, and Old French Tervagant, Tervagan (possibly with the addition of Anglo-Norman -aunt, Old French -ant (suffix forming present participles of verbs, some of which were used as nouns); modern French Tervagant (historical)); further etymology uncertain, one common suggestion being that it is from Latin ter (“three times, thrice”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + vagāns (“rambling, wandering”) (the present active participle of vagor (“to ramble, roam, wander”), from vagus (“rambling, roaming, wandering”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hwogos) + -or (inflected form of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). Medieval French chansons de geste named Termagant as one of three deities supposedly worshipped by Muslims, the others being Apollin and Mahound, and the name may allude to the wandering of the moon (the crescent moon being a common symbol of Islam) in the form of the mythological goddesses Selene in heaven, Diana on earth, and Proserpina in the underworld. The reason for the shift in meaning from the fictitious deity to a brawling and turbulent person is unclear. The adjective is derived from the noun.

PIE word *tréyes From Middle English Termagaunt (“fictitious deity represented as being worshipped by Muslims; any pagan god”), from Anglo-Norman Tervagant, Tervagaunt, Tervagan, and Old French Tervagant, Tervagan (possibly with the addition of Anglo-Norman -aunt, Old French -ant (suffix forming past participles of verbs, some of which were used as nouns); modern French Tervagant (historical)); further etymology uncertain, one common suggestion being that it is from Latin ter (“three times, thrice”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + vagāns (“rambling, wandering”) (the present active participle of vagor (“to ramble, roam, wander”), from vagus (“rambling, roaming, wandering”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hwogos) + -or (inflected form of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). Medieval French chansons de geste named Termagant as one of three deities supposedly worshipped by Muslims, the others being Apollin and Mahound, and the name may allude to the wandering of the moon (the crescent moon being a common symbol of Islam) in the form of the mythological goddesses Selene in heaven, Diana on earth, and Proserpina in the underworld.

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: ترماغنت — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Belarusian: Тэрмага́нт (Termahánt) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Belarusian: Тэрвага́н (Tervahán) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Estonian: Termagant — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• French: Tervagan — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• French: Tervagant — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• German: Termagant — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• German: Tervagant — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Italian: Termagante — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Japanese: ターマガント (Tāmaganto) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Marathi: टेर्मागंट (ṭermāgaṇṭa) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Polish: Termagant — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Russian: Термага́нт (Termagánt) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Russian: Тривига́нт (Trivigánt) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Spanish: Termagante — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Thai: เทอร์มาแกนต์ — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Ukrainian: Термагант (Termahant) — fictitious deity with a violent temperament represented as being worshipped by Muslims or other non-Christians
• Finnish: äkäpussi — brawling, boisterous, and turbulent person or thing
• Polish: jędza — brawling, boisterous, and turbulent person or thing
• Catalan: fúria — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Czech: saň — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Esperanto: megero — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Finnish: äkäpussi — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• French: mégère — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Hungarian: sárkány — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Japanese: 鬼婆 (oni-baba) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Japanese: 鬼嫁 (oniyome) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Macedonian: караконџула (karakondžula) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Polish: sekutnica — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Polish: szczekaczka — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Polish: jędza — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Polish: harpia — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Russian: меге́ра (megéra) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Russian: фурия (furija) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Russian: гарпия (garpija) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Russian: стерва (sterva) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Scottish Gaelic: ban-sglàmhrainn — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Spanish: arpía — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Swedish: ragata — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Vietnamese: bà cô — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Welsh: cecren — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew
• Yiddish: מויד (moyd) — censorious, nagging, and quarrelsome woman — see also shrew