prodigious

English

Etymology

From Middle French prodigieux, from Latin prōdigiōsus (“unnatural, strange, wonderful, marvelous”), from prōdigium (“an omen, portent, monster”). Morphologically prodigy +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/
• Rhymes: -ɪdʒəs

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

prodigious (comparative more prodigious, superlative most prodigious)

1. Very big in size or quantity; colossal, gigantic, huge.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:large

   • 1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “How ’’John’’ Look’d Over His Attorney’s Bill”, in Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 20:

     When John firſt brought out the Bills, the Surprize of all the Family was unexpreſſible, at the prodigious Dimenſions of them; […]

   • 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:

     Its prodigious size made me shrink again; yet I could not, without pleasure, behold, and even ventur'd to feel, such a length, such a breadth of animated ivory!

   • 1820, William Hazlitt, “Lecture I. Introductory.”, in Lectures Chiefly on the Dramatic Literature of the Age of Elizabeth. […], London: Stodart and Steuart, […]; Edinburgh: Bell and Bradfute, →OCLC, page 2:

     [T]hey were not the spoiled children of affectation and refinement, but a bold, vigorous, independent race of thinkers, with prodigious strength and energy, with none but natural grace, and heartfelt unobtrusive delicacy.

2. Extraordinarily amazing or exciting.
3. Freakish; monstrous.
4. (obsolete) Ominous, portentous.

Derived terms

• prodigiously

Translations

very big in size or quantity — see also gigantic,‎ huge

• Bulgarian: огромен (bg) (ogromen)
• Catalan: prodigiós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: suunnaton (fi), mahtava (fi)
• German: ungeheuer (de), gewaltig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: πέλωρος (pélōros)

• Hungarian: hatalmas (hu), óriási (hu)
• Japanese: 途方もない (ja) (とほうもない, tohōmonai)
• Macedonian: о́громен (ógromen)
• Romanian: enorm (ro) m or n, gigantic (ro), prodigios (ro), vast (ro), neobișnuit (ro) m or n
• Russian: чрезме́рный (ru) (črezmérnyj), грома́дный (ru) (gromádnyj), непоме́рный (ru) (nepomérnyj), огро́мный (ru) (ogrómnyj)
• Swedish: ofantlig (sv), enorm (sv), gigantisk (sv)
• Turkish: devasa (tr), kocaman (tr), muazzam (tr)

amazing

• Armenian: զարմանալի (hy) (zarmanali)
• Bulgarian: изумителен (bg) (izumitelen), удивителен (bg) (udivitelen)
• Catalan: prodigiós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: verbazingwekkend (nl)
• Estonian: hämmastav
• Finnish: ällistyttävä (fi), hämmästyttävä (fi)
• French: prodigieux (fr)
• German: verwunderlich (de)
• Hungarian: bámulatos (hu), tüneményes (hu), páratlan (hu), csodálatos (hu)
• Icelandic: stórkostlegur (is)
• Latvian: apbrīnojams
• Macedonian: неверо́јатен (neverójaten), чу́десен (čúdesen)
• Norwegian: fenomenal
• Occitan: prodigiós (oc)
• Russian: умопомрачи́тельный (ru) (umopomračítelʹnyj), изуми́тельный (ru) (izumítelʹnyj), порази́тельный (ru) (porazítelʹnyj), удиви́тельный (ru) (udivítelʹnyj)
• Slovak: podivuhodný
• Swedish: häpnadsväckande (sv)
• Turkish: hayret verici, şaşırtıcı (tr)

Further reading

• “prodigious”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “prodigious”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “prodigious”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.