prodigue

Prodigue is a term that appears in both French and English with related but distinct uses. In French, prodigue (masculine) is an adjective meaning lavish, extravagant, or wasteful. As a noun, un prodigue refers to a spendthrift—someone who spends resources wastefully. In modern French, the related noun for wastefulness is la prodigalité; prodigue as an adjective is common in literary or formal contexts.

English usage of prodigue is largely archaic or rare. When it appears, it can function as a noun meaning a spendthrift or as an adjective meaning lavish or wasteful, but it is largely superseded by prodigal or prodigality. The word in English traces to Latin prodigus, passing through Old French before entering the language in earlier centuries. Today, prodigue is mostly found in historical texts or in translations from French rather than in everyday English.

In translation and interpretation, prodigue may convey a sense of lavish expenditure without the stronger moral nuance sometimes carried by prodigal in English. Prodigal emphasizes both excess and its moral or financial consequences, whereas prodigue tends to focus on the act of spending or the attribute of lavishness in a more neutral or archaic register.

See also: prodigal, prodigality. These related terms cover the common English usage for extravagant spending and its associated behaviors, while French usage retains prodigue as a formal adjective and a historical noun for a spendthrift.