Etymology

From Middle FrenchCategory:English terms borrowed from Middle French#CARDINALCategory:English terms derived from Middle French#CARDINAL cardinal, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL 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]Category:English 3-syllable words#CARDINALCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/, [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nl̩]Category:English 3-syllable words#CARDINALCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL

    • Audio:

      (file)

      Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL
• (rhotic)
  • (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑɹd(ɪ)nəl/, [ˈkʰɑɹd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑɹd(ɪ)nl̩]Category:English 3-syllable words#CARDINALCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL

    • Audio (US):

      (file)

      Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dɪnəlCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)dɪnəl#CARDINAL
• Hyphenation: car‧din‧al

Adjective

cardinal (comparative more cardinal, superlative most cardinal)Category:English lemmas#CARDINALCategory:English adjectives#CARDINALCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.

   a cardinal ruleCategory:English terms with collocations#CARDINAL

   • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     But cardinal sins, and hollow hearts, I fear ye.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     the cardinal intersections of the zodiack

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

   • a. 1631, Michael Drayton, To my noble friend Mr. William Brown, of the evil time:

     Impudence is now a cardinal virtue.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
2. (nauticalCategory:en:Nautical#CARDINAL) Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).

   a cardinal markCategory:English terms with collocations#CARDINAL

3. Describing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, 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).
5. (astrologyCategory:en:Astrology#CARDINAL) Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force.

   Coordinate terms: fixed, mutable

Noun

cardinal (countable and uncountable, plural cardinals)Category:English lemmas#CARDINALCategory:English nouns#CARDINALCategory:English uncountable nouns#CARDINALCategory:English countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:English countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

2. (Roman CatholicismCategory:en:Roman Catholicism#CARDINAL) 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.^[1]

   Hypernym: cleric

   • 1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 16, in 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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

   • 2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian‎:

     Francis riled conservative cardinals with his compassion for migrants and refugees, openness towards LGBTQ+ Catholics and demands for action on the climate crisis.
     Among the frontrunners before the conclave began were Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state; Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines; Péter Erdő, a traditionalist from Hungary; Robert Sarah, a cardinal from Guinea who criticised Francis’s papacy; and the moderate US cardinal Robert Prevost.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

4. 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

   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

5. A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red)

   cardinal:  

   • 1889, Demorests' Monthly Magazine, volume 25, page 65:

     Dark navy-blue, cardinal, golden-brown, old blue, olive, slate-gray, and telegraph-blue are the favorite solid colors seen in heavy beaver cloths […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 1914, ἄν ἀνἁβιλε [án anhabile], “Under the Cardinal Red and Silver Grey”, in Corks and Curls, volume 27, University of Virginia, page 28:

     The cardinal red and silver grey colors were worn with great enthusiasm. In the spring-time, when the entire student body bought their new straw hats, the bands were of cardinal and grey ribbon.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

6. (mathematicsCategory:en:Mathematics#CARDINAL) Ellipsis of cardinal numberCategory:English ellipses#CARDINAL, a number indicating quantity, or the size of a set (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3). (See Cardinal_number.)
   • 1920, Bertrand Russell, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy, page 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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

7. (grammarCategory:en:Grammar#CARDINAL) Ellipsis of cardinal numeralCategory:English ellipses#CARDINAL, 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" […].

8. Ellipsis of cardinal flowerCategory:English ellipses#CARDINAL (Lobelia cardinalisCategory:Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)#Lobelia%20cardinalis), a flowering plant.
   • 1844–1857, Marion D. Sullivan, “Mary Lee: A Romance of the Milton Wood” (sheet music), Boston: Oliver Ditson, page 2, verse 3:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

9. Ellipsis of cardinal tetraCategory:English ellipses#CARDINAL (Paracheirodon axelrodiCategory:Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)#Paracheirodon%20axelrodi), a freshwater fish.
10. (now historicalCategory:English terms with historical senses#CARDINAL) A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth.
    • 1763 August 9, The London Chronicle For the Year 1763, volume 14, page 130, column 2:

      […] ; 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; […].

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

    • 1775, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Duenna, I.3:

      She has valuables of mine; besides, my cardinal and veil are in her room.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

      Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
    • c. 1760, Robert Lloyd, Chit-Chat, an imitation of Theocritus:

      Where's your cardinal! Make haste.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

      Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
    • 1823, Lionel Thomas Berguer, World, page 115:

      I have made no objection to their wearing the cardinal, though it be a habit of popish etymology, and was, I am afraid, first invented to hide the sluttishness of French dishabille.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

    • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 274:

      Closely drawing her cardinal round her, she descended into the park, at whose extremity was the little chapel where she intended to make her offering. She soon arrived there, and found the aged priest in attendance.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

11. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#CARDINAL) Mulled red wine.
    • 1861, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford:

      He goes up, and finds the remains of the supper, Tankards full of egg-flip and cardinal, and a party playing at vingt-un.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

    • 1951, Herbert Warner Allen, A Contemplation of Wine, page 116:

      A Recipe to make Cardinal, which I attribute to the German governess, raises a problem.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

    • 1974, Dennis Walton Dodds, Napoleon's Love Child: A Biography of Count Leon, page 59:

      It was de Rosenberg's practice to separate young bloods from their inheritance, and to facilitate this he served them a vicious drink called 'cardinal', a mulled wine of which the ascertainable ingredients were a pineapple and several mixed vintages.

      Category:English terms with quotations#CARDINAL

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [kər.diˈnal]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kaɾ.ðiˈnal]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL

Adjective

cardinal m or f (masculine and feminine plural cardinals)Category:Catalan lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Catalan adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Catalan epicene adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. cardinal

Etymology

Learned borrowing from LatinCategory:French terms borrowed from Latin#CARDINALCategory:French learned borrowings from Latin#CARDINALCategory:French terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL cardinālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaʁ.di.nal/Category:French 3-syllable words#CARDINALCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#CARDINAL

Adjective

cardinal (feminine cardinale, masculine plural cardinaux, feminine plural cardinales)Category:French lemmas#CARDINALCategory:French adjectives#CARDINALCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. important; paramount
2. (mathematicsCategory:fr:Mathematics#CARDINAL) cardinal

   Coordinate term: ordinal

Noun

cardinal m (plural cardinaux)Category:French lemmas#CARDINALCategory:French nouns#CARDINALCategory:French countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:French masculine nouns#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. (religionCategory:fr:Religion#CARDINAL) cardinal
2. (mathematicsCategory:fr:Mathematics#CARDINAL) cardinal number

   Coordinate term: ordinal

3. cardinal (bird)

Noun

cardinal m (invariable)Category:French lemmas#CARDINALCategory:French nouns#CARDINALCategory:French countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:French indeclinable nouns#CARDINALCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:French masculine nouns#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. cardinal (color)

Further reading

• “cardinal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Noun

cardinal m (apocopated)Category:Italian non-lemma forms#CARDINALCategory:Italian noun forms#CARDINALCategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. apocopic form of cardinaleCategory:Italian apocopic forms#CARDINAL

Anagrams

• calandri

Noun

cardinal m (plural cardinauls)Category:Middle French lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Middle French nouns#CARDINALCategory:Middle French entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Middle French masculine nouns#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINALCategory:Middle French countable nouns#CARDINAL

1. (ChristianityCategory:frm:Christianity#CARDINAL) cardinal.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from LatinCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from Latin#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese learned borrowings from Latin#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL cardinālis. Doublet of cardealCategory:Portuguese doublets#CARDINAL, which was inherited.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al, -awCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/al#CARDINALCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/al/3 syllables#CARDINALCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/aw#CARDINALCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/aw/3 syllables#CARDINAL
• Hyphenation: car‧di‧nal

Adjective

cardinal m or f (plural cardinais)Category:Portuguese lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese epicene adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. cardinal (describing a number that indicates quantity)

   Synonym: cardeal

Noun

cardinal m (plural cardinais)Category:Portuguese lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese nouns#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. cardinal (number indicating quantity)

   Synonym: cardeal

2. (typographyCategory:pt:Typography#CARDINAL) 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

Alternative forms

• кардинал (cardinal) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#CARDINALCategory:Romanian terms derived from French#CARDINAL cardinal, LatinCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from Latin#CARDINALCategory:Romanian terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL cardinālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kar.diˈnal/Category:Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL
• Rhymes: -alCategory:Rhymes:Romanian/al#CARDINALCategory:Rhymes:Romanian/al/3 syllables#CARDINAL
• Hyphenation: car‧di‧nal

Adjective

cardinal m or n (feminine singular cardinală, masculine plural cardinali, feminine/neuter plural cardinale)Category:Romanian lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Romanian adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. principal, essential, fundamental

   Synonyms: capital, crucial, decisiv, esențial, fundamental

Noun

cardinal m (plural cardinali)Category:Romanian lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Romanian nouns#CARDINALCategory:Romanian countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Romanian masculine nouns#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. (Roman CatholicismCategory:ro:Roman Catholicism#CARDINAL) cardinal
2. cardinal (bird)
3. a variety of grape, cultivated for consumption

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

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from Latin#CARDINALCategory:Spanish terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL cardinālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaɾdiˈnal/ [kaɾ.ð̞iˈnal]Category:Spanish 3-syllable words#CARDINALCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL
• Rhymes: -alCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/al#CARDINALCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/al/3 syllables#CARDINAL
• Syllabification: car‧di‧nal

Adjective

cardinal m or f (masculine and feminine plural cardinales)Category:Spanish lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Spanish adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Spanish epicene adjectives#CARDINALCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. cardinal (crucial, pivotal)

   Synonym: fundamental

2. cardinal (describing a number used to indicate quantity)

   Antonym: ordinal

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

Etymology

From EnglishCategory:Welsh terms derived from English#CARDINAL cardinal, from Middle FrenchCategory:Welsh terms derived from Middle French#CARDINAL cardinal (“cardinal”), from LatinCategory:Welsh terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from LatinCategory:Welsh terms derived from Latin#CARDINAL cardō (“hinge”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkardɪnal/Category:Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation#CARDINAL
• Rhymes: -ardɪnalCategory:Rhymes:Welsh/ardɪnal#CARDINALCategory:Rhymes:Welsh/ardɪnal/3 syllables#CARDINAL

Noun

cardinal m (plural cardinaliaid)Category:Welsh lemmas#CARDINALCategory:Welsh nouns#CARDINALCategory:Welsh countable nouns#CARDINALCategory:Welsh entries with incorrect language header#CARDINALCategory:Welsh masculine nouns#CARDINALCategory:Pages with entries#CARDINALCategory:Pages with 9 entries#CARDINAL

1. (Roman CatholicismCategory:cy:Roman Catholicism#CARDINAL) cardinal (Roman Catholic official)
2. cardinal (bird)

Mutation