ordinal

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ordinal

/ˈɔː.dɪ.nəl/ UK
/ˈɔɹ.dɪ.nəl/ Canada, US
/ˈoː.dɪ.nəl/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)dɪnəl, -ɔːɹdnəl

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin ōrdinālis, adjective formed from noun ōrdō (“order”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

adjective

not comparable, of a number Indicating position in a sequence. "Three" is a cardinal number, while "third" is the corresponding ordinal number.
not comparable Pertaining to a taxon at the rank of order.
not comparable Intercardinal.

noun ordinals

An ordinal number such as first, second and third. The most common numerals in Latin, as in English, are the "cardinals"[…]and the "ordinals"[…]
A book used in the ordination of Anglican ministers, or in certain Roman Catholic services
A unique serial number assigned to a satoshi based on its position in the blockchain.

Translations

Every language

adj indicating position in a numerical sequence

Español	ordinal
Português	ordinal
Français	ordinal, ordinaux
Deutsch	ordinal
Русский	поря́дковый porjádkovyj

noun ordinal number — see also ordinal number

Français	ordinal

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Cite this

MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{ordinal_2026,
  title = {ordinal},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ordinal},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}