I. ˈkärd( ə )nəl, ˈkȧd- adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin cardinalis, from Latin, of a hinge, from cardin-, cardo hinge + -alis -al; akin to Old English hratian to rush, hasten, Middle High German scherzen to leap for joy, jest, Old Norse hrata to stagger, fall, Greek kradan to shake, brandish, kordylē bump, swelling, skairein to gambol, Sanskrit kūrdati he leaps; basic meaning: to spring, turn
1. : of basic importance : central, basic, or critical to any system, construction, organization, or framework of thought
might ask for the return of the German colonies, but this was evidently not cardinal — Sir Winston Churchill
the cardinal element in the plan was speed
: of principal importance : chief , primary
progress had been elevated into a cardinal doctrine of the educated classes — Lewis Mumford
a cardinal symptom in diagnosis
2.
a. : of or relating to the hinge of a bivalve shell
b. : of or relating to the cardo of an insect
3. : of a cardinal red color
Synonyms: see essential
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin cardinalis, from Late Latin cardinalis, adjective, principal
1. : a high ecclesiastical official taking precedence over every other dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church below papal rank who is appointed by the pope to assist him as a member of the college of cardinals
2. : cardinal number — usually used in plural
3. : a woman's short hooded cloak originally of scarlet cloth
4. or cardinal red
[so called from the color of a cardinal's robes]
: a variable color averaging a vivid red that is yellower and duller than madder crimson or carmine, bluer and duller than scarlet or Castilian red, and duller than apple red
5. also cardinal bird
[so called from its red color, compared with that of a cardinal's robes]
: any of several American songbirds (genus Richmondena ) of the family Fringillidae of the southern and middle U.S., the male being bright red with a black face, pointed crest, and loud song and the female being much duller in color — see arizona cardinal