English → Latin
“prodigal” in Latin
prōdiguswasteful, lavish, prodigalprofundōto pour forth, to lavish; to prostrate; to squandereffundōto pour out, shed, spread abroad, drain off; to pour, drive, cast or send out, shower, discharge; to give oneself up to,helluōglutton; squanderergurgeswhirlpool, eddy; gulf; abyss
The English word prodigal itself goes back to Latin agō, through prōdigālis.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
prodigal
prodigus (of persons): profusus, effusus (of persons or things), in aliqua re. A prodigal, homo prodigus, profusus, or effusus; heluo; gurges. (The words are found in this connection and order.) gurges atque heluo; Nep. (heluo and Nep. with reference to the whole character): to be prodigal of anything, effundere, profundere, conficere, consumere (to consume or destroy by lavishing, to waste): dissipare, abligurire, lacerare (e.g., patria bona, rem familiarem): perdere (to throw away): heluari (to consume by luxury: ☞ prodigere is an old word, revived after the best period of the language, and therefore to be avoided): to be prodigal of time, or words, tempus, verba, perdere: to be prodigal in the bestowal of honors, in decernendis honoribus nimium esse et tamquam prodigum (Cic.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for prodigal?
- The usual Latin words for “prodigal” are prōdigus, profundō, effundō; also helluō, gurges. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.