cardinal number

American  

[kahr-dn-l nuhm-ber] / ˈkɑr dn l ˈnʌm bər /

noun

• cardinal numbers
  plural

1. Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).

2. Also called potency, power. Mathematics. a number or symbol analogous to the number of elements in a finite set, being identical for two sets that can be placed into one-to-one correspondence.

   The cardinal number of the set a1, a2, … an is n.

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cardinal number British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: cardinal. a number denoting quantity but not order in a set

2. maths logic

   1. a measure of the size of a set that does not take account of the order of its members Compare natural number

   2. a particular number having this function

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cardinal number Scientific  

/ kär′dn-əl /

1. A number, such as 3, 11, or 412, used in counting to indicate quantity but not order.

2. Compare ordinal number

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cardinal numbers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cardinal number

First recorded in 1585–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cardinal number

For every infinite cardinal ℵa, there is a next larger cardinal number ℵa+1.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2021

The cardinal number 𝔡 is defined as the smallest possible size of a set of continuous functions sufficient to dominate every possible continuous function.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2021

In specifying any part of a series, we ought rather to place the cardinal number after the ordinal.

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

But so long as the cardinal number is inferred from the collections, not constructed in terms of them, its existence must remain in doubt, unless in virtue of a metaphysical postulate ad hoc.

From Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays by Bertrand Russell

FORTY, the cardinal number equal to four tens.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

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