From even this stronghold the unlucky rip was at length routed by his termagant wife, who would suddenly break in upon the tranquillity of the assemblage, and call the members all to nought; nor was that august personage, nicholas vedder himself, sacred from the daring tongue of this terrible virago, who charged him outright with encouraging her husband in habits of idleness.

using context clues, what does the word termagant most likely mean in this excerpt from washington irving's "rip van winkle"?

delicate girl
devoted homemaker
overbearing woman
school teacher

The answer is (C) overbearing woman.  

Explanation:

Rip Van Winkle is a short story written by Washington Irving in 1819 about a Dutch-American man who falls asleep only to find himself awake 20 years later after the American Revolution. The wife mentioned in the quoted paragraph is Dame Van Winkle, who often nags her husband who is quite lazy and abhors the idea of working. We can guess that the meaning of ‘termagant’ is overbearing woman from the description given in the paragraph above, without having to look at the dictionary, from phrases such as “suddenly break in upon the tranquility” and “daring tongue of this terrible virago”.  

overbearing woman

Explanation:

i have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

i do not think they will sing to me

i'm not sure i'm so sorry i will see what i can do