cardinal

== English == === Etymology === From Middle French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from cardin-, cardō (“hinge”) + -ālis, adjectival suffix. === Pronunciation === (non-rhotic) (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/, [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nl̩] (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/, [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nl̩] (rhotic) (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈkɑɹd(ɪ)nəl/, [ˈkʰɑɹd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑɹd(ɪ)nl̩] Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dɪnəl Hyphenation: car‧din‧al === Adjective === cardinal (comparative more cardinal, superlative most cardinal) Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal. (nautical) Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west). Describing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position. Having a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal’s cassock). (astrology) Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force. Coordinate terms: fixed, mutable ==== Translations ==== === Noun === cardinal (countable and uncountable, plural cardinals) (Roman Catholicism) One of the officials appointed by the pope in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking only below the pope, equal to the patriarchs, constituting the special college which elects the pope. Hypernym: cleric Any of various species of New-World passerine songbird in the genus Cardinalis, or in the family Cardinalidae more generally, or of similar appearance and once considered to be related to the former; so called because of their red plumage. (See Wikipedia article for taxonomical information.) Hyponyms: northern cardinal, red cardinal A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red) (mathematics) Ellipsis of cardinal number, a number indicating quantity, or the size of a set (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3). (See Cardinal_number.) (grammar) Ellipsis of cardinal numeral, a word used to represent a cardinal number. 2005, Frederic M. Wheelock, Wheelock's Latin, 6th ed. revised, p.97: The commonest numerals in Latin, as in English, are the "cardinals" […] and the "ordinals" […]. Ellipsis of cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a flowering plant. Ellipsis of cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a freshwater fish. (now historical) A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth. (obsolete) Mulled red wine. ==== Translations ==== === Synonyms === (any of family Cardinalidae): cardinalid === Derived terms === === See also === Contrast with ordinal (numbers) Card. (abbreviation) === References === (woman's cloak; mulled red wine): Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1873) === Further reading === Cardinal (Catholicism) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === Clarinda == Catalan == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [kər.diˈnal] IPA(key): (Valencia) [kaɾ.ðiˈnal] IPA(key): (Northwestern) [kar.diˈnal] === Adjective === cardinal m or f (masculine and feminine plural cardinals) cardinal ==== Derived terms ==== punt cardinal == French == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin cardinālis. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kaʁ.di.nal/ === Adjective === cardinal (feminine cardinale, masculine plural cardinaux, feminine plural cardinales) important; paramount (mathematics) cardinal Coordinate term: ordinal ==== Derived terms ==== point cardinal === Noun === cardinal m (plural cardinaux) (religion) cardinal (mathematics) cardinal number Coordinate term: ordinal cardinal (bird) === Noun === cardinal m (invariable) cardinal (color) === Further reading === “cardinal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Italian == === Noun === cardinal m (apocopated) apocopic form of cardinale === Anagrams === calandri == Middle French == === Noun === cardinal m (plural cardinauls) (Christianity) cardinal. == Portuguese == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin cardinālis. Doublet of cardeal, which was inherited. === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -al, -aw Hyphenation: car‧di‧nal === Adjective === cardinal m or f (plural cardinais) cardinal (describing a number that indicates quantity) Synonym: cardeal === Noun === cardinal m (plural cardinais) cardinal (number indicating quantity) Synonym: cardeal (typography) hash (the # symbol) === Further reading === “cardinal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “cardinal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Alternative forms === кардинал (cardinal) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling === Etymology === Borrowed from French cardinal, Latin cardinālis. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kar.diˈnal/ Rhymes: -al Hyphenation: car‧di‧nal === Adjective === cardinal m or n (feminine singular cardinală, masculine plural cardinali, feminine/neuter plural cardinale) principal, essential, fundamental Synonyms: capital, crucial, decisiv, esențial, fundamental ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== numeral cardinal punct cardinal roșu cardinal, roșu-cardinal virtuți cardinale === Noun === cardinal m (plural cardinali) (Roman Catholicism) cardinal cardinal (bird) a variety of grape, cultivated for consumption ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== cardinalat cardinalist === References === “cardinal”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026 cardinal in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN == Spanish == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin cardinālis. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kaɾdiˈnal/ [kaɾ.ð̞iˈnal] Rhymes: -al Syllabification: car‧di‧nal === Adjective === cardinal m or f (masculine and feminine plural cardinales) cardinal (crucial, pivotal) Synonym: fundamental cardinal (describing a number used to indicate quantity) Antonym: ordinal ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== === Further reading === “cardinal”, 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 == Welsh == === Etymology === From English cardinal, from Middle French cardinal (“cardinal”), from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from Latin cardō (“hinge”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkardɪnal/ Rhymes: -ardɪnal === Noun === cardinal m (plural cardinaliaid) (Roman Catholicism) cardinal (Roman Catholic official) cardinal (bird) ==== Derived terms ==== cardinal cyffredin === Mutation ===