cardinal
IPA: kˈɑrdʌnʌɫ
noun
- (Roman Catholicism) One of the officials appointed by the pope in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking only below the pope and the patriarchs, constituting the special college which elects the pope. (See Wikipedia article on Catholic cardinals.)
- Any of a genus of songbirds of the finch family, Cardinalis.
- 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.
- (color) A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red)
- (now historical) A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth.
- (obsolete) Mulled red wine.
- (baseball) A player on the St. Louis Cardinals team.
- (American football) A player on the Arizona Cardinals team.
- A student or player on a sports team at the University of Louisville.
- A player on a sports team at Stanford University.
- A surname from French common among French Canadians as well as Cree and Métis indigenous peoples in Canada.
- (mathematics) Short for cardinal number, a number indicating quantity, or the size of a set (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3). (See Cardinal_number.) [A number used to denote quantity; a counting number; a cardinal.]
- (grammar) Short for cardinal numeral, a word used to represent a cardinal number. [(grammar) A word used to represent a cardinal number.]
- Short for cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a flowering plant. [Lobelia cardinalis (syn. L. fulgens), a species of lobelia native to the Americas, usually with vibrant red flowers.]
- Short for cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a freshwater fish. [A freshwater fish (Paracheirodon axelrodi, family Characidae), native to rivers in South America, popular as an aquarium fish.]
adjective
- 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).
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Examples of "cardinal" in Sentences
- Cardinal Etsou had preeminence however.
- The cardinal bequeathed the diamond to the king.
- The Cardinals won the game the following inning.
- The Cardinals signed Carpenter prior to the season.
- It is the fourth of the Cardinal virtues in the Tarot.
- Cardinal Pacelli was the channel for the practical approbation.
- The cardinality of this set is the cardinality of the continuum.
- He was patronized by the family of the cardinal Bernardino Cardinal Spada.
- Bosola kills the servant of the Cardinal first, and then stabs the Cardinal.
- Cardinal Martini was sometimes described in the news media as having gone as far as suggesting the church consider ordaining women as priests.