prodigy

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈprɑdədʒi/ UK /ˈprɒdɪdʒi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person with exceptional talent, especially a child

The young pianist was hailed as a musical prodigy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person with exceptional... geniuswunderkindphenomenon wonder marvel virtuoso whiz

Word family

Related forms prodigious

Simplified etymology

Prodigy comes from Latin prodigium, “portent.” In late Middle English it denoted an extraordinary occurrence regarded as an omen; from the late 17th century it was also applied to a person with exceptional ability or talent.

Etymology

From Latin prodigium ('omen, portent, monster, marvel'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from prod- (pro- 'forth') + an element related to aio ('to say').

prodigium Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# prodigy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈprɑdədʒi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈprɒdɪdʒi/

## Meanings
1. a person with exceptional talent, especially a child

## Examples
- The young pianist was hailed as a musical prodigy.

## Synonyms
- genius
- wunderkind
- phenomenon
- wonder
- marvel
- virtuoso
- whiz

## Related Forms
- prodigious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: prodigium

## Etymology
From Latin prodigium ('omen, portent, monster, marvel'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from prod- (pro- 'forth') + an element related to aio ('to say').

## AI Etymology
Prodigy comes from Latin prodigium ('omen, portent, monster, marvel'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from prod- (pro- 'forth') + an element related to aio ('to say'). The historical chain includes Latin prodigium. The quoted older senses, "omen, portent, monster, marvel", "forth", and "to say", supply the semantic anchors for prodigy. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word prodigy carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a person with exceptional talent, especially a child". Related English forms include prodigious. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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