English Reference
Adjective

prodigious

adj.
C1 Advanced US /pɹəˈdɪdʒəs/ UK /pɹədˈɪdʒəs/ prodi·gious

adj.extremely large or great. You use this to describe something that is much bigger or more intense than usual.

adj.extremely large in size, amount, or degree. Often used to describe natural talents or physical abilities that are far above average.


SIMPLE

The athlete showed prodigious talent from a very young age.

CONTEXTUAL

The company achieved prodigious growth during the first year of its expansion into international markets.

COMPLEX

The historian noted the prodigious scale of the ancient library, which reportedly contained thousands of scrolls that had survived the centuries.

Usage prodigious money-raising

In recent weeks, other elements of his life story were increasingly questioned , including claims of prodigious money-raising for charity and feats of long-distance running.

The Guardian· 15 Aug 2026

And the man hits such a speed we realise why he did not learn this script: it would be too prodigious a feat of memory.

The Guardian· 13 Aug 2026

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁ǵyéti Proto-Italic *agjō Latin aiō Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin prōdigium Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-der. Proto-Indo-European *-h₃d-s-o-? Latin -ōsus Latin prōdigiōsusbor. Middle English prodigious English prodigious The adjective is derived from Late Middle English prodigious (“warning of disaster, portentous”), from Latin prōdigiōsus (“strange, unnatural; marvellous, wonderful, prodigious”), from prōdigium (“prophetic sign, omen, portent; prodigy, wonder”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of’ forming adjectives from nouns). Prōdigium is derived from prō- (prefix denoting a forward direction, something before or prior, or prominence) + aiō (“to say, speak”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ- (“to say”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). The English word is analysable as prodigy + -ous. The adverb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Catalan prodigiós * Middle French prodigieux (“portentous”) (modern French prodigieux) * Italian prodigioso * Portuguese prodigioso * Spanish prodigioso

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin ine-pro *h₁eǵ-
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated