prodigal

The story

1. Latin · derived fromprōdigus“wasteful, lavish, prodigal”
2. Late Latin · derived fromprōdigālis“wasteful”
3. Middle French · borrowed fromprodigal
4. English todayprodigal

From Middle French prodigal, from Late Latin prōdigālis (“wasteful”), from Latin prōdigus (“wasteful, lavish, prodigal”), from prōdigō (“to consume, squander, drive forth”), from prōd- [from prō (“before, forward”)] + agō (“to drive”). Also see unrelated prodigy. The senses of "abandoning a person or cause" and "returning after abandonment" are by allusion to the New Testament story commonly called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", Luke 15:11–32. See prodigal son.