Meaning

noun a dissolute man in fashionable society

noun a recklessly extravagant consumer

adjective recklessly wasteful

originThe adjective is first attested in 1535, the verb in 1542; borrowed from Latin prōflīgātus, perfect passive participle of prōflīgō (“to strike down, cast down”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 an 3) and pro-), from prō- (“forward”) + flīgō (“to strike, dash”) + -ō (1st conjugation compound verb-forming suffix). Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0