📖 WordNook

cardinal

adjective
  1. serving as an essential component
    “a cardinal rule”
    central
  2. being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order
    “cardinal numbers”
noun
  1. crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male
    cardinal grosbeak
  2. a variable color averaging a vivid red
    carmine
  3. (Roman Catholic Church) one of a group of more than 100 prominent bishops in the Sacred College who advise the Pope and elect new Popes
  4. the number of elements in a mathematical set
    cardinal number