In the Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, a son receives his inheritance and travels to a distant country, wastes all his money in wild extravagance, becomes desperately poor, returns to his father, and is received with open arms. Prodigal, here and elsewhere, means rashly or wastefully extravagant.
What is a prodigal person?
1 : one who spends or gives lavishly and foolishly. 2 : one who has returned after an absence.
Why is it called prodigal son?
In the story, a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his portion of inheritance from his father, who grants his son’s request. This son, however, is prodigal (i.e., wasteful and extravagant), thus squandering his fortune and eventually becoming destitute.
Is prodigal a positive word?
Prodigal, which is derived from the Latin term prodigere, which means “to drive away or squander,” also means “lavish,” and in addition it has a sense of luxuriance that may, depending on context, be negative, neutral, or positive.
Is prodigal related to Prodigy?
Prodigal comes from the Latin word prodigus or lavish, which incidentally is not the root for the word prodigious. Prodigious, which means to be inordinately large or remarkable in some way, comes from the same root as prodigy.
What is another name for prodigal son?
Find another word for prodigal-son. In this page you can discover 7 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for prodigal-son, like: lost lamb, prodigal returned, prodigal, penitent, returnee, magdalen and spend-all.
What is a prodigal child?
: a son/daughter who leaves his or her parents to do things that they do not approve of but then feels sorry and returns home —often used figuratively He left the company several years ago, but now the prodigal son has returned.
How do you use the word prodigal?
Prodigal in a Sentence
If you want to save money for college, you should stop your prodigal spending sprees.We should be concerned about our future because of our prodigal youth.After the prodigal son spent all of his inheritance, he had to get a low-paying job.
Does prodigal mean wasteful?
wastefully or recklessly extravagant: prodigal expenditure.
What does prodigal husband mean?
adjective [usu ADJ n] You can describe someone as a prodigal son or daughter if they leave their family or friends, often after a period of behaving badly, and then return at a later time as a better person.
What was the sin of the older brother of the prodigal son?
The prodigal’s brother proclaimed his righteousness, but had never lifted a finger to help his father bring his brother back. Then when his prodigal brother finally did return, he would not accept his brother as an equal part of the family. He judged that his brother was unworthy of the family’s love.
Who is the prodigal son in the Bible?
a figure in a parable of Jesus (Luke 15:11–32); a wayward son who squanders his inheritance but returns home to find that his father forgives him.
What is to hatch?
transitive verb. 1a : to produce (young) from an egg by applying natural or artificial heat. b : incubate sense 1a. 2 : to bring into being : originate especially : to concoct in secret hatch a plot.
What is prodigious talent?
adjective. far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree. “the young Mozart’s prodigious talents” synonyms: exceeding, exceptional, olympian, surpassing extraordinary. beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable.
Does prodigal son mean prodigy?
In sum, prodigal and prodigy are not at all the same thing! If I hear one more person tell me that prodigal means “genius,” I will be filled with a prodigious indignation! Oh, I almost forgot. Prodigious isn’t the same as prodigy or prodigal — it just means “large.”
