ordinal
1 Americanadjective
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of or relating to an order, as of animals or plants.
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of or relating to order, rank, or position in a series.
noun
noun
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a directory of ecclesiastical services.
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a book containing the forms for the ordination of priests, consecration of bishops, etc.
adjective
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denoting a certain position in a sequence of numbers
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of, relating to, or characteristic of an order in biological classification
noun
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short for ordinal number
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a book containing the forms of services for the ordination of ministers
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RC Church a service book
Other Word Forms
- ordinally adverb
Etymology
Origin of ordinal1
1590–1600; < Late Latin ōrdinālis in order equivalent to Latin ōrdin- (stem of ōrdō ) order + -ālis -al 1
Origin of ordinal2
1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin ōrdināle, noun use of neuter of ōrdinālis in order. See ordinal 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There are 25 Helena Drives in Brentwood, each a cul-de-sac preceded by a different ordinal number — 7th, 19th, etc.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2024
The contexts of some problems called on the cardinal properties of numbers -- the quantity of elements in a set -- others on their ordinal properties -- their position in an ordered list.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024
“The only way a person could determine an elector’s ordinal position is by personally observing that elector cast his or her ballot.”
From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2024
In other words, Mr. Forman invited applicants to observe, collect and then make ordinal sense of exactly the same jungle of information the U.S.
From Washington Post • Dec. 4, 2022
Where a number is expressed in terms of various denominations, a cardinal number usually begins with the largest denomination, and an ordinal number with the smallest.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
