cardinal

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See also: Cardinal

English[edit]

WOTD – 11 June 2006
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Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from cardō (“hinge”) + -ālis, adjectival suffix.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

cardinal (comparative more cardinal, superlative most cardinal)

  1. Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
    a cardinal rule
    • Shakespeare
      But cardinal sins, and hollow hearts, I fear ye.
    • Sir Thomas Browne
      the cardinal intersections of the zodiac
    • Drayton
      Impudence is now a cardinal virtue.
  2. (nautical) Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
    a cardinal mark
  3. Describing a "natural" number used to indicate quantity (e.g., one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.
  4. Having a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal's cassock).

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun[edit]

cardinal (plural cardinals)

  1. A number indicating quantity, or the size of a set, e.g., one, two, three. (See Wikipedia article on Cardinal number.)
    • 1920, Bertrand Russell, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy, p.83:
      This cardinal number is the smallest of the infinite cardinal numbers; it is the one to which Cantor has appropriated the Hebrew aleph with the suffix 0, to distinguish it from larger infinite cardinals. Thus the name of the smallest of infinite cardinals is 0א.
  2. (grammar) A word used to represent a cardinal number; a cardinal numeral.
  3. An official in the Catholic Church, ranking only below the Pope and the patriarchs. (See Wikipedia article on Catholic cardinals.)
    • 1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 16, Friday's Business:
      His uncle, a Cardinal, engages a Spanish youth of Moorish descent called Diego, an expert singer and player on the virginal, to unlock the secrets of the heart, […] and cure him by the spell of his music.
  4. A genus of songbirds of the finch family, Cardinalis.
  5. Any of various related passerine birds of the family Cardinalidae (See Wikipedia article on cardinals) and other similar birds that were once considered to be related.
    • 1907, Robert W. Chambers, chapter V, The Younger Set:
      Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
  6. A shade of scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock.
    cardinal colour:    
  7. A woman's short cloak with a hood.
    • Robert Lloyd (1733-1764)
      Where's your cardinal! Make haste.
  8. Mulled red wine.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Hotten to this entry?)

Translations[edit]

cardinal numeral — see cardinal numeral
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin cardinālis.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

cardinal m (feminine cardinale, masculine plural cardinaux, feminine plural cardinales)

  1. Important; paramount.
  2. (mathematics) cardinal.

Noun[edit]

cardinal m (plural cardinaux)

  1. (religion) cardinal.
  2. Cardinal number.
  3. Cardinal (bird).

Noun[edit]

cardinal m (invariable)

  1. cardinal (color).

External links[edit]

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

cardinal m (invariable)

  1. apocopic form of cardinale

Anagrams[edit]

Middle French[edit]

Noun[edit]

cardinal m (plural cardinauls)

  1. (Christianity) cardinal.

Portuguese[edit]

Adjective[edit]

cardinal m, f (plural cardinais, comparable)

  1. cardinal (describing a number that indicates quantity)

Synonyms[edit]

Noun[edit]

cardinal m (plural cardinais)

  1. cardinal (number indicating quantity)

Synonyms[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ka̠ɾ.diˈna̠l/

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin cardināli, singular ablative of cardinālis.

Adjective[edit]

cardinal m, f (plural cardinales)

  1. cardinal Crucial, pivotal (for few cases).
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
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