Cardinal

Car´di`nal

Of fundamental importance; preëminent; superior; chief; principal.

The cardinal intersections of the zodiac.

- Sir T. Browne.

Impudence is now a cardinal virtue.

- Drayton.

But cardinal sins, and hollow hearts, I fear ye.

- Shak.

Cardinal numbers
the numbers one, two, three, etc., in distinction from first, second, third, etc., which are called ordinal numbers.

Cardinal points
a -	(Geol.) The four principal points of the compass, or intersections of the horizon with the meridian and the prime vertical circle, north, south east, and west.
b -	(Astrol.) The rising and setting of the sun, the zenith and nadir.

Cardinal signs
(Astron.) Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn.

Cardinal teeth
(Zool.) the central teeth of bivalve shell. See Bivalve.

Cardinal veins
(Anat.) the veins in vertebrate embryos, which run each side of the vertebral column and returm the blood to the heart. They remain through life in some fishes.

Cardinal virtues
preëminent virtues; among the ancients, prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude.

Cardinal winds
winds which blow from the cardinal points due north, south, east, or west.

(R. C. Ch.) One of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the pope's council, or the sacred college.

The clerics of the supreme Chair are called Cardinals, as undoubtedly adhering more nearly to the hinge by which all things are moved.

- Pope Leo IX.

A woman's short cloak with a hood.

Where's your cardinal! Make haste.

- Lloyd.

Mulled red wine.

the cardinal bird, also called the northern cardinal.

Cardinal bird

(Zool.) an American song bird (Cardinalis cardinalis, or Cardinalis Virginianus), of the family Fringillidæ, or finches of which the male has a bright red plumage, and both sexes have a high, pointed crest on its head; - it is also called the northern cardinal or eastern cardinal. The males have loud and musical notes resembling those of a fife. Other related species are also called cardinal birds.

Cardinal flower
(Bot.) an herbaceous plant (Lobelia cardinalis) bearing brilliant red flowers of much beauty.

Cardinal red
a color like that of a cardinal's cassock, hat, etc.; a bright red, darker than scarlet, and between scarlet and crimson.

Noun	1.	cardinal - (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
	2.	cardinal - the number of elements in a mathematical set; denotes a quantity but not the order Synonyms: cardinal number
	3.	cardinal - a variable color averaging a vivid red Synonyms: carmine
	4.	cardinal - crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male Synonyms: cardinal grosbeak, Cardinalis cardinalis, Richmondena Cardinalis, redbird
Adj.	1.	cardinal - serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure" Synonyms: central, fundamental, key, primal
	2.	cardinal - being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order; "cardinal numbers" Antonyms: ordinal - being or denoting a numerical order in a series; "ordinal numbers"; "held an ordinal rank of seventh"

CARDINAL, eccl. law. The title given to one of the highest dignitaries of the court of Rome. Cardinals are next to the pope in dignity; he is elected by them and out of their body. There are cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons. See Fleury, Hist. Eccles. liv. xxxv. n. 17, II. n. 19 Thomassin, part ii. liv. i. oh. 53, part iv. liv. i. c. 79, 80 Loiseau, Traite des Ordres, c. 3, n. 31; Andre, Droit Canon, au mot.

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