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 a woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth and popularly worn in the 18th century.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

It was nearly a half decade ago that Lincoln Riley, dressed in a slick blue suit and glossy cardinal tie, stood atop the Coliseum’s rooftop deck, grinning as he gazed out across the field below.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Some believe turning up with an iced matcha latte in hand is a cardinal sin.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

On the visionary west wall, a gray-hatted Ludovico, in stiff profile, encounters his young son Francesco, made a cardinal at age 17.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“Yet, many banks refuse to have any sort of framework to evaluate that, and certainly don’t communicate about it. To us, that is the cardinal sin.”

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

He should never have agreed to raise to the papacy any cardinal he might have injured or who, upon becoming pope, might have cause to fear him.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

“I think the cardinals were looking for three things,” said Alistair Dutton, secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic humanitarian organizations.

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

Six months since a conclave of cardinals elected the first North American to the Papacy, some Catholics feel that Leo has been slow to stamp his own mark on the role.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025

She had ceramic cardinals and bluejays on tables in the living room of her farmhouse in Illinois, where I’d spend every summer.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2023

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