cardinal

American  

[kahr-dn-l] / ˈkɑr dn l /

noun

cardinals plural

1. Roman Catholic Church. a high ecclesiastic appointed by the pope to the College of Cardinals and ranking above every other ecclesiastic but the pope.

2. any bird belonging to the genus Cardinalis of the family Cardinalidae (cardinal family), especially the common northern cardinal of North America, the male of which is bright red.

3. any bird of the Americas belonging to the genus Piranga, Chlorothraupis, or Habia, including the scarlet tanager: these three genera were long considered part of the tanager family but are now classified as members of the cardinal family.

4. Also called red-headed cardinal.  any bird belonging to the genus Paroaria of the tanager family (Thraupidae), noted for drab plumage other than conspicuously red head parts: most common in South America, Paroaria species include the prominently crested P. coronata, which has been successfully introduced to Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

5. Also called Mediterranean fritillary.  a spotted, orange nymphalid butterfly with a green underside, Argynnis pandora, found throughout southern Europe and some adjoining regions of Asia and northern Africa.

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 a woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth and popularly worn in the 18th century.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.

---

adjective

1. of prime importance; chief; principal.

   of cardinal significance.

2. of the color cardinal.

cardinal British  

/ ˈkɑːdɪnəl /

noun

1. RC Church any of the members of the Sacred College, ranking next after the pope, who elect the pope and act as his chief counsellors

2. Also called: cardinal red.  a deep vivid red colour

3. See cardinal number

4. Also called: cardinal grosbeak.   redbird.  a crested North American bunting, Richmondena (or Pyrrhuloxia ) cardinalis, the male of which has a bright red plumage and the female a brown one

5. a fritillary butterfly, Pandoriana pandora, found in meadows of southern Europe

6. a woman's hooded shoulder cape worn in the 17th and 18th centuries

---

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) fundamentally important; principal

   cardinal sin

2. of a deep vivid red colour

3. astrology of or relating to the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn Compare mutable fixed

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cardinalship
  noun
• intercardinal
  adjective
• postcardinal
  adjective
• subcardinal
  adjective
• cardinally
  adverb
• subcardinally
  adverb
• uncardinally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cardinals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cardinal

First recorded before 1150; Middle English, Old English, from Latin cardinālis, equivalent to cardin- (stem of cardō ) “hinge,” hence, something on which other things hinge + -ālis adjective suffix; see -al ¹

Explanation

A cardinal is a bright red songbird, and the word also refers to the bird's crimson color. In Catholicism, a cardinal is a high-ranking bishop. In math, you use cardinal numbers to count. A cardinal rule is one that is central and should not be broken. Okay, that's a lot of definitions. How exactly are they related? In most cases, cardinal means central or essential. It's a cardinal principle that you use it to describe words of behavior like rule or sin. In the Church, cardinals form the central governing body, and in math the cardinal numbers (one, two, three) are the numbers you learn and use first.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cardinal cardinals

"Crowded into the room were members of parliament, city authorities and, I seem to remember, a single red-hatted cardinal from the Vatican."

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

The source told AFP that "close associates" who have known the cardinal for years reported similar behaviour when he was a missionary in South America.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

One morning, Margaret notices a red cardinal in her kitchen, meeting its eyes before it departs back out her window.

From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026

Her crime, she believes, is “the cardinal scientific sin of anthropomorphizing trees by using the metaphor of the mother tree.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

I don’t do colors so my cardinal is a female.

From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine

Leo, 70, will on Friday mark one year as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, after being elected by cardinals on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis.

From Barron's ● May 3, 2026

Still, the election of an American pope was a surprise, since many prelates—including Prevost himself—believed that the college of cardinals wouldn’t hand the papacy to the U.S., on top of all the superpower’s other clout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026

“We now have quite a few bishops and cardinals coming out and being present, which is very important. As far as our archdiocese is concerned — not so much.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026

Following Francis's death, Robert Prevost, born in Chicago, became Pope Leo XIV after he was elected by the conclave of cardinals.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025

Shadow became aware of eyes on him: a handful of red cardinals stared at him from a skeletal elder bush, then returned to pecking at the clusters of black elderberries.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Related Words

• overriding