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Cardinal - 6 dictionary results

car⋅di⋅nal

   [kahr-dn-l]
–adjective
1. of prime importance; chief; principal: of cardinal significance.
2. of the color cardinal.
–noun
3. Roman Catholic Church. a high ecclesiastic appointed by the pope to the College of Cardinals and ranking above every other ecclesiastic but the pope.
4. Also called cardinal grosbeak. a crested grosbeak, Cardinalis cardinalis, of North America, the male of which is bright red.
5. any of various similar birds.
6. a deep, rich red color.
7. a woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth and popularly worn in the 18th century.
8. cardinal number.
Origin:
bef. 1150; ME, OE < L cardinālis, equiv. to cardin- (s. of cardō) hinge, hence, something on which other things hinge + -ālis -al 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Cardinal
Spanish: cardinal, German: grundsätzlich; Haupt-…, Japanese: 主要な
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car·di·nal     (kär'dn-əl, kärd'nəl)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Of foremost importance; paramount: a cardinal rule; cardinal sins.
  2. Dark to deep or vivid red.

n.  
  1. Abbr. Card. Roman Catholic Church A high church official, ranking just below the pope, who has been appointed by a pope to membership in the College of Cardinals.
  2. A dark to deep or vivid red.
  3. A North American finch (Cardinalis cardinalis) having a crested head, a short thick bill, and bright red plumage in the male.
  4. A short hooded cloak, originally of scarlet cloth, worn by women in the 18th century.
  5. A cardinal number.


[Middle English, from Late Latin cardinālis, principal, pivotal, from Latin, serving as a hinge, from cardō, cardin-, hinge.]

car'di·nal·ship' n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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cardinal  (n.)
1125, "one of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the sacred college," from L. cardinalis "principal, chief, essential," from cardo (gen. cardinis) "that on which something turns or depends," originally "door hinge." Ecclesiastical use began for the presbyters of the chief (cardinal) churches of Rome. The adj. sense of "chief, principal" in Eng. is attested from c.1440. Cardinal numbers (1591) are the primitive "one, two, three," etc. as opposed to ordinal numbers "first, second, third," etc. Cardinal points (1549) are "north, south, east, west." The cardinal virtues (c.1300) were divided into natural (justice prudence, temperance, fortitude) and theological (faith, hope, charity). The N.Amer. songbird (Cardinalis virginianus) is attested from 1678, so named for its resemblance to the red robes of the cardinals.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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cardinal

adjective
1. serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure" 
2. being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order; "cardinal numbers" [ant: ordinal] 

noun
1. (Roman Catholic Church) one of a group of more than 100 prominent bishops in the Sacred College who advise the Pope and elect new Popes 
2. the number of elements in a mathematical set; denotes a quantity but not the order [syn: cardinal number] 
3. a variable color averaging a vivid red 
4. crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Cardinal

Car"di*nal\, a. [L. cardinalis, fr. cardo the hinge of a door, that on which a thing turns or depends: cf. F. cardinal.] Of fundamental importance; pre["e]minent; superior; chief; principal.

The cardinal intersections of the zodiac. --Sir T. Browne.

Impudence is now a cardinal virtue. --Drayton.

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

Cardinal numbers, the numbers one, two, three, etc., in distinction from first, second, third, etc., which are called ordinal numbers.

Cardinal points (a) (Geol.) The four principal points of the compass, or intersections of the horizon with the meridian and the prime vertical circle, north, south east, and west. (b) (Astrol.) The rising and setting of the sun, the zenith and nadir.

Cardinal signs (Astron.) Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn.

Cardinal teeth (Zo["o]l.), the central teeth of bivalve shell. See Bivalve.

Cardinal veins (Anat.), the veins in vertebrate embryos, which run each side of the vertebral column and returm the blood to the heart. They remain through life in some fishes.

Cardinal virtues, pre["e]minent virtues; among the ancients, prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude.

Cardinal winds, winds which blow from the cardinal points due north, south, east, or west.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Cardinal

Car"di*nal\, n. [F. carinal, It. cardinale, LL. cardinalis (ecclesi[ae] Roman[ae]). See Cardinal, a.]

1. (R. C. Ch.) One of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the pope's council, or the sacred college.

The clerics of the supreme Chair are called Cardinals, as undoubtedly adhering more nearly to the hinge by which all things are moved. --Pope Leo IX.

Note: The cardinals are appointed by the pope. Since the time of Sixtus V., their number can never exceed seventy (six of episcopal rank, fifty priests, fourteen deacons), and the number of cardinal priests and deacons is seldom full. When the papel chair is vacant a pope is elected by the college of cardinals from among themselves. The cardinals take precedence of all dignitaries except the pope. The principal parts of a cardinal's costume are a red cassock, a rochet, a short purple mantle, and a red hat with a small crown and broad brim, with cords and tessels of a special pattern hanging from it.

2. A woman's short cloak with a hood.

Where's your cardinal! Make haste. --Lloyd.

3. Mulled red wine. --Hotten.

Cardinal bird, or Cardinal grosbeak (Zo["o]l.), an American song bird (Cardinalis cardinalis, or C. Virginianus), of the family Fringillid[ae], or finches having a bright red plumage, and a high, pointed crest on its head. The males have loud and musical notes resembling those of a fife. Other related species are also called cardinal birds.

Cardinal flower (Bot.), an herbaceous plant (Lobelia cardinalis) bearing brilliant red flowers of much beauty.

Cardinal red, a color like that of a cardinal's cassock, hat, etc.; a bright red, darker than scarlet, and between scarlet and crimson.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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