pugnacious: [17] Latin pugnus meant ‘fist’ (it may have been related to Greek pugmé ‘fist’, source of English pygmy). From it was derived the verb pugnāre ‘hit with the fist’, hence ‘fight’, which has given English impugn [14], repugnant [14], and, via the further derivative pugnāx ‘fond of fighting’, pugnacious. => impugn, repugnant
