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 a woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth and popularly worn in the 18th century.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

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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

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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

While I was visiting Cindy a few days later, a young cardinal alighted at the feeder and met our gaze.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

"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

Both the Pentagon and the Vatican denied a report, published in the Free Press last week, that the meeting was tense, with Colby lecturing the cardinal on U.S. military power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

Colby reportedly gave the cardinal a dressing down.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

The third cardinal feature of gene regulation, Monod and Jacob discovered, was that every gene had specific regulatory DNA sequences appended to it that acted like recognition tags.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Her recent joint interview with three U.S. cardinals about Pope Leo XIV and his church’s opposition to the Iran war and Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown became a major story in April.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

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

But the Italian enjoyed the patronage of cardinals and popes; Noguchi had to contend with the likes of Robert Moses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 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

I cheered for the liberal bishops and cardinals at that great convocation.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Related Words

• overriding