Dictionary

prodigy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɹɒdɪd͡ʒi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɹɑdɪd͡ʒi/ (General-American)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. An extraordinary occurrence or creature; an anomaly, especially a monster; a freak.
2. An amazing or marvellous thing; a wonder.
   • He is never chased; he would run away with rope-walks of line. Prodigies are told of him. 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter XXXII, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 153:
3. A wonderful example of something.
   • Traffic at Dover Marine has developed far beyond anything envisaged when the station was built. The layout has become rather cramped, and prodigies of organisation are performed annually by all concerned to save complete saturation. 1959 October 14, T. W. E. Roche, “Traffic Working at Dover Marine Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 680:
4. An extremely talented person, especially a child.
5. (archaic) An extraordinary thing seen as an omen; a portent.
   • Prodigies and Portents have infected the beſt VVritings of Antiquity; and have ſo blotted and deformed our modern Annals, that (vvith greater Juſtice than Polybius has obſerv'd it, of the former) they may be rather called Tragedies than History. 1727, William Warburton, “Part I”, in A Critical and Philosophical Enquiry into the Causes of Prodigies and Miracles, as Related by Historians. […], London: […] Thomas Corbett, […], →OCLC, page 1:
   • These on the farther bank now stood and gazed, / By Heaven alarm’d, by prodigies amazed: / A signal omen stopp’d the passing host, / Their martial fury in their wonder lost. 1717, Homer, “Book XII”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume III, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:
   • John Foxe believed that special prodigies had heralded the Reformation. 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 87:

Forms

Coordinates

idiot savant (extremely talented person) · savant (extremely talented person)

Deriveds

prodigious · cyberprodigy

Relateds

child prodigy · prodigal · precocious · prodigy house

Synonyms

child prodigy (extremely talented person) · girl-genius (extremely talented person) · boy wonder (extremely talented person) · girl wonder (extremely talented person) · boy-genius (extremely talented person) · wunderkind (extremely talented person)

Translations (92)

de Genie (extremely talented person, especially a child) · fr miracle (amazing or marvelous thing) · de Wunder (amazing or marvelous thing) · cs znamení (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · fr enfant prodige (extremely talented person, especially a child) · no vidunderbarn (extremely talented person, especially a child) · da vidunder (amazing or marvelous thing) · ja 神童 (extremely talented person, especially a child) · es augurio (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · es milagro (amazing or marvelous thing) · pt maravilha (amazing or marvelous thing) · bg вундеркинд (extremely talented person, especially a child) · cmn 資優兒童 /资优儿童 (extremely talented person, especially a child) · de Naturtalent (extremely talented person, especially a child) · mi inati (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · fr auspices (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · hu csoda (amazing or marvelous thing) · fi ihme (amazing or marvelous thing) · cmn 聖童 /圣童 (extremely talented person, especially a child) · sv under (wonderful example of something) · la prōdigium (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · sv underbarn (extremely talented person, especially a child) · cmn 神童 (extremely talented person, especially a child) · tr mucize (wonderful example of something) · it prodigio (amazing or marvelous thing) · es cosa extraña (amazing or marvelous thing) · sv vidunder (amazing or marvelous thing) · it prodigio (extremely talented person, especially a child) · pt prodígio (extremely talented person, especially a child) · es maravilla (amazing or marvelous thing) · bg знамение (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · bg феномен (wonderful example of something) · ru ге́ний (extremely talented person, especially a child) · es niño prodigio (extremely talented person, especially a child) · sv under (amazing or marvelous thing) · tr dâhi çocuk (extremely talented person, especially a child) · ca prodigi (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · ota معجزه (amazing or marvelous thing) · bg чудо (amazing or marvelous thing) · fr phénomène (extremely talented person, especially a child) · it fenomeno (extremely talented person, especially a child) · sv mirakel (amazing or marvelous thing) · hu csodagyerek (extremely talented person, especially a child) · ca prodigi (wonderful example of something) · de Hochbegabter (extremely talented person, especially a child) · fr prodigie (amazing or marvelous thing) · ota علامت (amazing or marvelous thing) · cs zázrak (amazing or marvelous thing) · cs génius (extremely talented person, especially a child) · mi inati (amazing or marvelous thing) · es portento (amazing or marvelous thing) · ota كرامت (amazing or marvelous thing) · nl mirakel (amazing or marvelous thing) · fr augure (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · de Orakel (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · fr présage (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · de Wunderkind (extremely talented person, especially a child) · ca prodigi (extremely talented person, especially a child) · ar أُعْجُوبَة (wonderful example of something) · fi ihmelapsi (extremely talented person, especially a child) · ja 前兆 (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · es agüero (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · ar نَابِغَة (extremely talented person, especially a child) · sv underverk (wonderful example of something) · es auspicio (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · fi ennusmerkki (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · ar أُعْجُوبَة (amazing or marvelous thing) · fr génie (extremely talented person, especially a child) · mi inati (wonderful example of something) · es prodigio (extremely talented person, especially a child) · es prodigio (amazing or marvelous thing) · fi malliesimerkki (wonderful example of something) · nl wonder (amazing or marvelous thing) · ja 驚異 (amazing or marvelous thing) · ru чу́до (amazing or marvelous thing) · fr prodige (amazing or marvelous thing) · la prōdigium (amazing or marvelous thing) · pt prodígio (amazing or marvelous thing) · es presagio (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · es genio (extremely talented person, especially a child) · mi taniwha (extremely talented person, especially a child) · fi enne (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · tr kâhin (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · sv underverk (amazing or marvelous thing) · es fenómeno (extremely talented person, especially a child) · it presagio (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · ru вундерки́нд (extremely talented person, especially a child) · nl wonderkind (extremely talented person, especially a child) · pt presságio (extraordinary thing seen as an omen) · cs zázračné dítě (extremely talented person, especially a child) · ca prodigi (amazing or marvelous thing) · fr merveille (amazing or marvelous thing)