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virago
A virago is a woman who demonstrates exemplary and heroic qualities. The word comes from the Latin word ''vir'', meaning 'man' (cf. virile) to which the suffix ''-ago'' is added, a suffix that effectively re-genders the word to be female.
The word ''virago'' has almost always had an association with cultural gender transgression. A virago, of whatever excellence, was still identified by her gender. There are recorded instances of viragos (such as Joan of Arc) fighting battles, wearing men's clothing, or receiving the tonsure.〔Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg. ''Forgetful of their sex: female sanctity and society, ca. 500-1100''. University Of Chicago Press, 2001. Page 50. ISBN 978-0-226-74054-6.〕 The word ''virago'' could also be used disparagingly, to imply that a virago was not excellent or heroic, but was instead violating cultural norms. Thus ''virago'' joined pejoratives such as ''termagant'', ''mannish'', ''amazonian'' and ''shrew'' to demean women who acted aggressively or like men.
==History==
Historically, the concept of a virago reaches back into antiquity where Hellenistic philosophy asserted that elite and exceptionally heroic men had ''virtus''. ''Virtus'' (once again linked to ''vir'', the brave man abiding by society's highest values and ethics as opposed to ''homo'', human being) defined the traits of excellence for a man in ancient Rome (and Greece), including valor and heroism, but also morality and physical strength. Women and non-elite or unheroic men (slaves, servants, craftsmen, merchants) were considered a lesser category, and believed to be less excellent in Roman morality. A woman, however, if exceptional enough could earn the title ''virago''. In doing so, she surpassed the expectations for what was believed possible for her gender, and embodied masculine-like aggression〔Virginia Blanton. ''Signs of devotion: the cult of St. Æthelthryth in medieval England, 695-1615'' Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Trd) (April 30, 2007). Page 168. ISBN 978-0-271-02984-9.〕 and/or excellence. Virago, then, was a title of respect and admiration. In Christianity, a nun or holy woman who had become equal in divinity to male monks through practiced celibacy, exemplary religious practice and devotion, and intact virginity, was considered to have surpassed the limitations of her femaleness and was called ''virago''.〔Newman, Barbara. ''From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature''. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. Page 5. ISBN 978-0-8122-1545-8.〕〔Laurence Lux-Sterritt. Redefining Female Religious Life: French Ursulines And English Ladies in Seventeenth-Century Catholicism. Ashgate Pub Co (January 30, 2006). Page 61. ISBN 978-0-7546-3716-5.〕
Standard modern dictionaries define ''virago'' as both a woman who has aggressive male characteristics, such as being noisy or domineering, as well as a woman of "great stature, strength, and courage".〔http://www.answers.com/topic/virago〕 Thus virago continues to be associated with the naming of a woman who has risen above cultural and gender stereotypes to embody a virile heroism. For example, the British Royal Navy christened at least four warships ''Virago''.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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