Question

part 1: use context clues to determine the meaning of the underlined words. if you are struggling or unsure, use a resource to define them. 1. ...that this portentous figure/comes armed through our watch portentous means ominous,foreboding. 2. ...it is as the air invulnerable./and our vain blows malicious mockery, invulnerable means cannot be harmed. 3. but you must know your father lost a father./that father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound in filial obligation for some term. filial means relating to a child’s duty to parents. 4. the chariest maid is prodigal enough/ if she unmasks her beauty to the moon.

Explanation:

Using context clues: the contrast between "chariest" (most cautious/modest) and "prodigal enough" shows the word means the opposite of reserved. It refers to being freely generous or wasteful, here meaning freely showing (beauty) without restraint.

Answer:

Prodigal means freely generous, or showing something without restraint (in this context, the modest maid freely reveals her beauty to the moon). More broadly, it can also mean wasteful with resources.