Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRO-DIG'IOUS, a. [Sp. and It. prodigioso; Fr. prodigieux; L. prodigiosus. See Prodigy.]

1. Very great; huge; enormous in size, quantity, extent, &c.; as, a mountain of prodigious size or altitude; a prodigious mass or quantity of water; an ocean or plain of prodigious extent. Hence,
2. Wonderful; astonishing; such as may seem a prodigy; monstrous; portentous. It is prodigious to have thunder in a clear sky. – Brown. Prodigious to relate. – Dryden.