Ha!! There are some who might prefer this term to my current nickname, "The Exaspirator." Not to be confused with "The Exacerbator." Notice the last sentence in the history of the word - how did it go from being a Muslim deity to describing only women???

The Word of the Day for Friday August 25, 2000:

termagant \TUR-muh-gunt\, noun:
A scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; a shrew.

adjective:
Overbearing; shrewish; scolding.
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Termagant comes from Middle English Termagaunt, alteration of Tervagant, from Old French. Termagant was an imaginary being supposed by ignorant medieval Christians to be a Muslim deity. He (for Termagant was male) is represented in the medieval morality plays, farces, and puppet shows as extremely violent and turbulent. By the sixteenth century, termagant was being used for a boisterous, brawling, turbulent person of either sex, but eventually it came to refer only to women.

Synonyms: shrew, virago, dragon, scold, Xantippe.