| prodigious \preh-di-jehs\ (adjective) - Impressively large or enormous; extraordinary, exciting wonder.
"Based upon the prodigious amount of cat hair on their furniture, Kate gathered that the Chapbourn's either had several resident felines or simply didn't clean very often."
Latin prodigiosus "monstrous or portentous" from prodigium "an omen, portent." The noun, "prodigy," refers to someone with a prodigious talent. In the 18th century, the adjective was use as an intensifier, like "really," "very," and so on: "It was a prodigiously fortuitous accident that allowed my wife and me to meet for the first time" is a sentence (not to say a mouthful) fitting for a romance. The word no longer serves that function. |
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