Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cardinal

/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.90 in modern English

Syllables
car-din-al
IPA
/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.

adj

Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).

adj

Describing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.

adj

Having a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal’s cassock).

adj

Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force.

noun

One of the officials appointed by the pope in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking only below the pope, equal to the patriarchs, constituting the special college which elects the pope.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any of various species of New-World passerine songbird in the genus Cardinalis, or in the family Cardinalidae more generally, or of similar appearance and once considered to be related to the former; so called because of their red plumage. (See Wikipedia article for taxonomical information.)

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red)

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin cardō Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin cardinālisder. Middle French cardinalbor. English cardinal From Middle French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from cardin-, cardō (“hinge”) + -ālis, adjectival suffix.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: cardinal, cardinālis

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/
  • British English: /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more cardinal (comparative) most cardinal (superlative) cardinals (plural)

Derived Forms

anticardinal cardinalate cardinalfish cardinalhood cardinalic cardinalin cardinalitial cardinality cardinalize cardinally cardinalship incardinate

Phrases

cardinal adjective cardinal beetle cardinal bird cardinal bishop cardinal catchfly cardinal concern cardinal fish cardinal flower

Frequently Paired Words

fixed mutable Contrast with ordinal Card

Synonyms

cardinalid central fundamental key primal cardinal grosbeak richmondena cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis redbird

Questions

How do you pronounce cardinal?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/.
What does cardinal mean?
Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
Where does cardinal come from?
It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce cardinal

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cardinal”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cardinal”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cardinal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.