cardinal number
Also called cardinal numeral . any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
Origin of cardinal number
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How to use cardinal number in a sentence
Two equally numerous collections appear to have something in common: this something is supposed to be their cardinal number.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays | Bertrand RussellThe notion of order, which is here introduced, is one which is not required in the theory of cardinal number.
What business has this cardinal number octiesque uno in a row of ordinals?
The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2) | John Fiske.The Latin language often employed the ordinal number instead of the cardinal number.
History of Julius Caesar Vol. 2 of 2 | Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.Thus the cardinal number one is the class of unit classes, the cardinal number two is the class of doublets, and so on.
British Dictionary definitions for cardinal number
a number denoting quantity but not order in a set: Sometimes shortened to: cardinal
maths logic
a measure of the size of a set that does not take account of the order of its members: Compare natural number
a particular number having this function
- Compare ordinal number
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for cardinal number
[ kär′dn-əl ]
A number, such as 3, 11, or 412, used in counting to indicate quantity but not order. Compare ordinal number.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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