Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Prodigal"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Prodigal \Prod"i*gal\, a. [L. prodigus, from prodigere to drive
forth, to squander away; pro forward, forth + agere to drive;
cf. F. prodigue. See {Agent}. ]
Given to extravagant expenditure; expending money or other
things without necessity; recklessly or viciously profuse;
lavish; wasteful; not frugal or economical; as, a prodigal
man; the prodigal son; prodigal giving; prodigal expenses.
In fighting fields [patriots] were prodigal of blood.
--Dryden.
Syn: Profuse; lavish; extravagant; squandering; wasteful. See
{Profuse}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Prodigal \Prod"i*gal\, n.
One who expends money extravagantly, viciously, or without
necessity; one that is profuse or lavish in any expenditure;
a waster; a spendthrift. ``Noble prodigals of life.''
--Trench.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
prodigal
adj 1: very generous; "distributed gifts with a lavish hand"; "the
critics were lavish in their praise"; "a munificent
gift"; "his father gave him a half-dollar and his
mother a quarter and he thought them munificent";
"prodigal praise"; "unsparing generosity"; "his
unstinted devotion"; "called for unstinting aid to
Britain" [syn: {lavish}, {munificent}, {overgenerous},
{too-generous}, {unsparing}, {unstinted}, {unstinting}]
2: recklessly wasteful; "prodigal in their expenditures" [syn:
{extravagant}, {profligate}, {spendthrift}]
3: marked by rash extravagance; "led a prodigal life"
n : a recklessly extravagant consumer [syn: {profligate}, {squanderer}]
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