Where does “prodigality” come from?
Prodigality comes from Middle French prodigal, derived from Latin prodigus meaning wasteful, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pro- and h₂eǵ- meaning to drive or lead.
prodigality (English): Wasteful extravagance; Lavish generosity
Definitions
- Wasteful extravagance; Lavish generosity
Ancestry of “prodigality”, step by step
prodigality traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English prodigal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | prodigal | Wastefully extravagant; Yielding profusely,... |
| 2 | Middle French | prodigal | — |
| 3 | Late Latin | prodigalis | wasteful |
| 4 | Latin | prōdigus | wasteful, lavish, prodigal |
| 5 | Latin | prōdigō | to squander, waste |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Old French prodigalite
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | prodigalite | — |
| 2 | Latin | prodigalitas | prodigality, profligacy, wastefulness |
| 3 | Latin | -tās | ty, -dom, -hood, -ness, -ship |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |