Where does “prodigal” come from?
prodigal (Middle French) comes from Late Latin prodigalis, from Latin prōdigus, from Latin prōdigō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por-, from Proto-Indo-European per- — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “prodigal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | prodigalis | wasteful |
| 2 | Latin | prōdigus | — |
| 3 | Latin | prōdigō | — |
| 4 | Latin | prō- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
Words derived from “prodigal”