English
virago
Virago comes from Latin virāgō ‘warlike or heroic woman’, from vir ‘man’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to chase, pursue’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-1‘to chase, pursue’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wiHrós1‘man’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiros1‘a man’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvir1‘man’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirāgō2‘warlike or heroic woman’literally ‘manlike’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918virago2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin virago
- 2 Wiktionary, English virago
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-Wiktionary, Latin virago‘to chase, pursue’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wiHrósWiktionary, Latin virago‘man’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wirosWiktionary, Latin virago‘a man’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirWiktionary, Latin virago‘man’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirāgōWiktionary, English virago‘warlike or heroic woman’literally ‘manlike’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918viragoWiktionary, English virago. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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, 51 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós ‘man’
through Latin vir ‘man’
virtual, virtue, virtuous, virtuoso, virile, virility, 4 more
Today it means
noun A woman given to undue belligerence or ill manner at the slightest provocation.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “virago”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin virago. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- / virago