From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pugnacious \Pug*na"cious\, a. [L. pugnax, -acis, fr. pugnare to
fight. Cf. Pugilism, Fist.]
Disposed to fight; inclined to fighting; quarrelsome;
fighting. --Pug*na"cious*ly, adv. -- Pug*na"cious*ness,
n.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
pugnacious
adj 1: tough and callous by virtue of experience [syn: {hard-
bitten}, hard-boiled, pugnacious]
2: ready and able to resort to force or violence; "pugnacious
spirits...lamented that there was so little prospect of an
exhilarating disturbance"- Herman Melville; "they were rough
and determined fighting men" [syn: pugnacious, rough]