Question 1 · Quick check
cardinal
CEFRC1
/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/
adjective · noun
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
adjective
Most important or basic.
- 02
noun
A high-ranking priest in the Roman Catholic Church.
Examples
The cardinal directions are: north, south, east, and west.
There are four cardinal points: East, south, west and north.
At a glance
Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 2
- Citations
- 5
- Synonyms
- 1
Also pronounced
- [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nəl] ~ [ˈkʰɑːd(ɪ)nl̩]
Deep Dive
adjective
Extra meaningsDescribing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.
Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
More examples
In contextThe commonest numerals in Latin, as in English, are the "cardinals" […] and the "ordinals" […].
a cardinal mark
a cardinal rule
Related
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Nearby
Origin
adjective
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.