n.
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English carde, from Anglo-French, alteration of Middle French carte, probably from Old Italian carta, literally, leaf of paper, from Latin charta leaf of papyrus, from Greek chart ē s
Date: 15th century
1 : PLAYING CARD
2 plural but singular or plural in construction a : a game played with cards b : card playing
3 a : something (as an advantage) compared to a valuable playing card in one's hand <holding all the card s in negotiations> b : an issue especially with emotional appeal that is brought into play to achieve a desired end (as winning a political campaign) <played the race card >
4 : a usually clownishly amusing person : WAG <he's such a card >
5 : COMPASS CARD
6 a : a flat stiff usually small and rectangular piece of material (as paper, cardboard, or plastic) usually bearing information: as (1) : POSTCARD (2) : VISITING CARD (3) : BUSINESS CARD (4) : CREDIT CARD (5) : one bearing a picture (as of a baseball player) on one side and usually statistical data on the other (6) : one on which computer information is stored (as in the form of punched holes or magnetic encoding) (7) : one bearing electronic circuit components for insertion into a larger electronic device (as a computer) b : PROGRAM especially : a sports program <three fights on the card > c (1) : a wine list (2) : MENU d : GREETING CARD <a birthday card >
– in the cards also on the cards : INEVITABLE <success just wasn't in the cards for her>