The Only Use

prodigal
in
The Grapes of Wrath
(Edited)

Casy suggested elaborately, "Maybe Tom'll kill the fatted calf like for the prodigal in Scripture."
Chpt 4

prodigal = the person, in the commonly referenced Christian parable, The Prodigal Son

Definitions:

(1) (prodigal)
recklessly wasteful

or more rarely:

abundant (extravagant in amount)

or more rarely still:

long absent (someone who has been away a long time)
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
More rarely, prodigal is used as a noun as a shortened version of prodigal son to reference someone who is wasteful like the prodigal son in the famous Christian parable. When the prodigal son came home and apologized for his wasteful and ungrateful ways, his father forgave him, loved him, and celebrated the return.