Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Prodigal \Prod"i*gal\, a. [L. prodigus, from prodigere to drive
   forth, to squander away; pro forward, forth + agere to drive;
   cf. F. prodigue. See {Agent}. ]
   Given to extravagant expenditure; expending money or other
   things without necessity; recklessly or viciously profuse;
   lavish; wasteful; not frugal or economical; as, a prodigal
   man; the prodigal son; prodigal giving; prodigal expenses.

         In fighting fields [patriots] were prodigal of blood.
                                                  --Dryden.

   Syn: Profuse; lavish; extravagant; squandering; wasteful. See
        {Profuse}.

Prodigal \Prod"i*gal\, n.
   One who expends money extravagantly, viciously, or without
   necessity; one that is profuse or lavish in any expenditure;
   a waster; a spendthrift. ``Noble prodigals of life.''
   --Trench.

Source : WordNet®

prodigal
     adj 1: very generous; "distributed gifts with a lavish hand"; "the
            critics were lavish in their praise"; "a munificent
            gift"; "his father gave him a half-dollar and his
            mother a quarter and he thought them munificent";
            "prodigal praise"; "unsparing generosity"; "his
            unstinted devotion"; "called for unstinting aid to
            Britain" [syn: {lavish}, {munificent}, {overgenerous},
             {too-generous}, {unsparing}, {unstinted}, {unstinting}]
     2: recklessly wasteful; "prodigal in their expenditures" [syn:
        {extravagant}, {profligate}, {spendthrift}]
     3: marked by rash extravagance; "led a prodigal life"

prodigal
     n : a recklessly extravagant consumer [syn: {profligate}, {squanderer}]