cardinal means of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
cardinal is pronounced /ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/.
Why “cardinal” is a great word
Of fundamental, indispensable importance; crucial or pivotal. From the Latin cardinālis ("principal, chief, essential"), from cardō ("hinge"). Unlike "principal," which suggests a rank of authority, or "fundamental," which describes a basic element, "cardinal" evokes the single, essential linchpin without which the entire structure would fail. It is the keystone in the arch, the lone navigational star in a blank sky, the breath before speech—a quiet acknowledgment that some truths are axial, and everything else merely rotates around them.
Etymology
Capitalization of cardinal (bird).
adj
- Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.e.g.“a cardinal rule”
- Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).e.g.“a cardinal mark”
- Describing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.
- Having a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal’s cassock).
- 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.
- 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.)
- A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red)e.g.“Dark navy-blue, cardinal, golden-brown, old blue, olive, slate-gray, and telegraph-blue are the favorite solid colors seen in heavy beaver cloths […]”
- A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth.
- Mulled red wine.e.g.“He goes up, and finds the remains of the supper, Tankards full of egg-flip and cardinal, and a party playing at vingt-un.”
- A player on the St. Louis Cardinals team.e.g.“Smith became a Cardinal as the result of a pre-season trade.”
- A player on the Arizona Cardinals team.
- A student or player on a sports team at the University of Louisville.
- A player on a sports team at Stanford University.
name
- A surname from French common among French Canadians as well as Cree and Métis indigenous peoples in Canada.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.