cardenal

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin cardinālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [kər.dəˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kaɾ.ðeˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [kar.deˈnal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

cardenal m (plural cardenals)

1. (Roman Catholicism) cardinal
2. (zoology) cardinal

Derived terms

• cardenalat
• cardenalici

Further reading

• “cardenal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaɾdeˈnal/ [kaɾ.ð̞eˈnal]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: car‧de‧nal

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin cardinālī, singular ablative of cardinālis.

Noun

cardenal m (plural cardenales)

1. (religion) cardinal
2. cardinal (bird)
3. cardinalfish

Derived terms

• Cardenales de San Luis (“St. Louis Cardinals”)
• cardenalicio
• cordón de cardenal

Related terms

• cardinal

Descendants

• → Tagalog: kardenal

Etymology 2

From cárdeno (adjective) +‎ -al, this from cardo, because of purple-like color of both skin and thistle flower.

Noun

cardenal m (plural cardenales)

1. bruise

   Synonyms: moretón, moratón

Derived terms

• acardenalar

Further reading

• “cardenal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025