My A Word A Day subscription informed me about the etymology of the word 'termagant':
Termagant
MEANING:
noun: A quarrelsome or overbearing woman.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French Tervagant. The term originates after 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.
Imaginary, did you say? Ha ha ha.
