pro-lificとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

First use appears c. 1635. From French prolifique and its etymon Latin prōlificus, from prōlēs (“offspring”) + -ficus (“making”).

発音

• (英国発音, General Australian) IPA: /pɹəˈlɪf.ɪk/
• (米国発音, Canada) IPA: /pɹəˈlɪf.ɪk/, /ˌpɹoʊˈlɪf.ɪk/
• ハイフネーション: pro‧li‧fic
• 韻: -ɪfɪk

形容詞

prolific (comparative more prolific, superlative most prolific)

1. Fertile; producing offspring or fruit in abundance, applied to plants producing fruit, animals producing young, etc.
2. Similarly producing results or performing deeds in abundance.
   • 2007, Ted Jones, The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers, page 58:

     However appealing Antibes may be to migrant authors, indigenous ones are relatively scarce. A notable exception is Jacques Audiberti, Antibes-born novelist and prolific playwright who wrote in the turn-of-the-century surrealist style, with titles that translate as Slaughter, or In Favour of Infanticide.

   • 2012 September 7, Dominic Fifield, “England start World Cup campaign with five-goal romp against Moldova”, in The Guardian‎:

     The most obvious beneficiary of the visitors' superiority was Frank Lampard. By the end of the night he was perched 13th in the list of England's most prolific goalscorers, having leapfrogged Sir Geoff Hurst to score his 24th and 25th international goals. No other player has managed more than the Chelsea midfielder's 11 in World Cup qualification ties, with this a display to roll back the years.

   • 2025 June 19, “Student who raped 10 women jailed for 24 years”, in bbc.com‎:

     A Chinese PhD student who is "one of the most prolific predators" in the UK has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 years.

3. (botany) Of a flower: from which another flower is produced.
4. Copious; plentiful; abundant.
   • 1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 202:

     The prolific bird life around the Inlet was thinning out but grey rosellas and zebras and painted finches made the bush merry[.]

同意語

• fertile
• (producing offspring or fruit in abundance): fecund
• (producing results or works in abundance): See also Thesaurus:productive

派生語

参照

• “prolific”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.