prod·i·gy  (pr ŏd ə-j ē)
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n. pl. prod·i·gies 1. A person with exceptional talents or powers: a math prodigy. 2. An act or event so extraordinary or rare as to inspire wonder: "The Spies performed prodigies of activity in clambering over the rooftops and cutting the streamers that fluttered from the chimneys" (George Orwell). 3. Archaic A portentous sign or event; an omen.
[Middle English prodige, portent, from Latin prōdigium.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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