The noun prodigy refers to a highly talented young person or to a wondrous event. The noun protégé refers to someone whose training or career is advanced by an influential person.
Examples:
- "Everybody hates a prodigy, detests an old head on young shoulders." (Erasmus)
- Abraham Lincoln was a protégé of Henry Clay, the Kentuckian who had orchestrated the great Missouri Compromise of 1820-21.
Practice:
(a) Stephen Sondheim, a _____ of Oscar Hammerstein II, composed the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.
(b) Gary Burton, the one-time teenage _____, is still an astonishing master of the vibes after 40 years.
