English Reference
Noun

prodigy

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˈpɹɑdədʒi/ UK /pɹˈɒdɪdʒi/ prodi·gy UK spelling prodigies

n.a young person who has a natural, amazing talent for something like music or math. They are much better at their skill than most adults.

n.a person, especially a child or young person, having extraordinary talent or ability. Often used to describe mastery of a complex field at an early age.


SIMPLE

The young piano prodigy played a difficult concerto perfectly.

CONTEXTUAL

By the age of ten, the chess prodigy was already competing against international grandmasters and winning.

COMPLEX

While many children show early promise, a true prodigy demonstrates a level of technical proficiency and creative maturity that typically takes decades of professional practice to achieve.

Usage

Often paired with a specific field, such as 'musical prodigy' or 'mathematical prodigy'.

In a wealthy New York suburb in the late 1970s, 18-year-old golf prodigy Mira Winston kills a classmate in a freak accident at the country club.

BreakingNews.ie· 22 Aug 2026

Although the 18-year-old Sean Steur – one of four players aged 20 or under signed by Newcastle since June – showed off some nice touches, the former Ajax prodigy betrayed his inexperience at times.

The Guardian· 15 Aug 2026

From Middle English prodige (“portent”), from Latin prōdigium (“omen, portent, prophetic sign”).

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

This entry
Origin Latin prōdigium
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated