cardinal

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cardinal^¹

/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/ UK
[ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nl̩] UK
/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/ Australia
[ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nl̩] Australia
/ˈkɑɹd(ɪ)nəl/ Canada, US
[ˈkʰɑɹd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑɹd(ɪ)nl̩] Canada, US

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)dɪnəl

Where it comes from

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.

adjective more cardinal · most cardinal

Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal. a cardinal rule
Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west). a cardinal mark
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).
Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force.

noun cardinals

countable, uncountable 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. 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.
countable, uncountable 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.) 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 scarl
Similar: cardinalid
countable, uncountable A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red) Dark navy-blue, cardinal, golden-brown, old blue, olive, slate-gray, and telegraph-blue are the favorite solid colors seen in heavy beaver cloths […]
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of cardinal number, a number indicating quantity, or the size of a set (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3). (See Cardinal_number.) 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.
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of cardinal numeral, a word used to represent a cardinal number. The commonest numerals in Latin, as in English, are the "cardinals" […] and the "ordinals" […].
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a flowering plant. The sweet-briar rose with perfume good, / And the violet grows in the Milton wood, / The cardinal red—a queen is she, / But the sweetest flower is Mary Lee.
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a freshwater fish.
countable, historical, uncountable A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth. […]; and whilst she was looking over several pieces of each, she took an opportunity of concealing under her cardinal a piece of cotton, and several handkerchiefs, with which she went off undiscovered;[…].
countable, obsolete, uncountable Mulled red wine. He goes up, and finds the remains of the supper, Tankards full of egg-flip and cardinal, and a party playing at vingt-un.

Cardinal^²

Where it comes from

Capitalization of cardinal (bird).

noun Cardinals

A player on the St. Louis Cardinals team. Smith became a Cardinal as the result of a pre-season trade.
A player on the Arizona Cardinals team.
A student or player on a sports team at the University of Louisville.

Cardinal^³

Where it comes from

Capitalization of cardinal (color).

noun Cardinals

A player on a sports team at Stanford University.

Cardinal^⁴

Where it comes from

From Canadian French Cardinal, from French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis.

proper noun

A surname from French common among French Canadians as well as Cree and Métis indigenous peoples in Canada.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: important, fundamental, primal, xxx, vi, vii, two, x, central, d, cardinal number, zero, three, one, xi, four

Translations

Every language

adj of fundamental importance

Español	cardinal
日本語	基本 kihon
Português	cardeal, fundamental, principal
Français	cardinal
Deutsch	grundsätzlich
Italiano	cardinale
Română	cardinal, fundamental
Русский	гла́вный glávnyj, основно́й osnovnój, кардина́льный kardinálʹnyj
Tiếng Việt	chính, chủ yếu, cốt yếu

adj of or relating to the cardinal directions

Português	cardeal
Français	cardinal
Română	cardinal

adj describing a number that indicates quantity

Español	cardinal
日本語	基数 kisū
Português	cardeal, cardinal
Français	cardinal
Deutsch	grundsätzlich
Italiano	cardinale
Ελληνικά	απόλυτος apólytos
Română	cardinal
Русский	коли́чественный kolíčestvennyj
Tiếng Việt	lượng

adj having a bright red color

Português	vermelho-cardeal
Français	rouge cardinal
Deutsch	kardinalrot
Italiano	cardinale
Română	roșu purpuriu, roșu cardinal

noun official of the Catholic Church

Español	cardenal
한국어	추기경 chugigyeong
日本語	枢機卿 sūki-kyō
中文	樞機主教 /枢机主教 shūjī zhǔjiào
Kiswahili	kadinali
Português	cardeal
Français	cardinal
Deutsch	Kardinal
Italiano	cardinale
Ελληνικά	καρδινάλιος kardinálios
Română	cardinal
Русский	кардина́л kardinál
Tiếng Việt	hồng y, đức hồng y
العربية	كارْدِينال kārdīnāl, كَرْدِينَال kardīnāl
עברית	חַשְׁמָן ẖashmán

noun bird of the genus Cardinalis or family Cardinalidae

Español	cardenal
中文	紅雀 /红雀 hóngquè
Português	cardeal
Français	cardinal
Deutsch	Kardinal
Italiano	cardinale
Русский	кардина́л kardinál
العربية	كَرْدِينَال kardīnāl

noun colour

日本語	緋色 hiiro
Português	vermelho-cardeal
Français	rouge cardinal
Deutsch	Kardinalrot
Italiano	rosso cardinale
Tiếng Việt	(màu) đỏ thắm

noun number indicating quantity

Español	número cardinal
日本語	基数 kisū
Português	cardinal, número cardinal
Français	cardinal
Deutsch	Grundzahl, Kardinalzahl
Italiano	numero cardinale
Ελληνικά	απόλυτος αριθμός apólytos arithmós
Română	număr cardinal
Русский	коли́чественное числи́тельное kolíčestvennoje čislítelʹnoje
Tiếng Việt	số lượng
العربية	كَرْدِينَال kardīnāl

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Cite this

MLA

"cardinal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cardinal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cardinal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cardinal

Chicago

"cardinal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cardinal.

BibTeX

@misc{cardinal_2026,
  title = {cardinal},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cardinal},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

cardinal

AI In plain words

cardinal¹

Where it comes from

adjective more cardinal · most cardinal

noun cardinals

Cardinal²

Where it comes from

noun Cardinals

Cardinal³

Where it comes from

noun Cardinals

Cardinal⁴

Where it comes from

proper noun

Thesaurus

Translations

adj of fundamental importance

adj of or relating to the cardinal directions

adj describing a number that indicates quantity

adj having a bright red color

noun official of the Catholic Church

noun bird of the genus Cardinalis or family Cardinalidae

noun colour

noun number indicating quantity

cardinal^¹

Cardinal^²

Cardinal^³

Cardinal^⁴