adjective. Of foremost importance; paramount.

adjective. Dark to deep or vivid red.

noun. A high church official, ranking just below the pope, who has been appointed by a pope to membership in the College of Cardinals.

noun. A dark to deep or vivid red.

noun. A North American bird (Cardinalis cardinalis) having a crested head, a short thick bill, and bright red plumage in the male.

noun. A short hooded cloak, originally of scarlet cloth, worn by women in the 1700s.

noun. A cardinal number.

Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a hinge; noting that on which something else hinges or depends; hence, chief; fundamental; preëminent; of special importance: as, cardinal virtues or sins; the cardinal doctrines of a creed; the cardinal points.

In conchology, of or relating to the hinge of a bivalve shell: as, cardinal teeth.

In entomology, pertaining to the cardo or base of the maxilla, which is sometimes called the cardinal piece.

[See II., 3.] Of a rich deep-red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet.

In astrology, the rising and setting of the sun, the zenith, and the nadir.

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

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

adjective. The rising and setting of the sun, the zenith and nadir.

adjective. Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn.

adjective. the central teeth of bivalve shell. See Bivalve.

adjective. 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.

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

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

noun. One of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the pope's council, or the sacred college.

noun. A woman's short cloak with a hood.

noun. Mulled red wine.

noun. the cardinal bird, also called the northern cardinal.

noun. 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.

noun. undefined

noun. an herbaceous plant (Lobelia cardinalis) bearing brilliant red flowers of much beauty.

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

adjective. Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.

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

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

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

noun. A number indicating quantity, or the size of a set, e.g., one, two, three. (See Wikipedia article on Cardinal number.)

noun. An official in the Catholic Church, ranking only below the Pope and the patriarchs. (See Wikipedia article on Catholic cardinals.)

noun. A songbird of the finch family, Cardinalis cardinalis.

noun. Any of various related passerine birds of the family Cardinalidae. (See Wikipedia article on cardinal birds.)

noun. A shade of scarlet associated with the colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock.

noun. A woman's short cloak with a hood.

noun. mulled red wine

adjective. being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order

noun. the number of elements in a mathematical set; denotes a quantity but not the order

adjective. serving as an essential component

noun. (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

noun. crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male

noun. a variable color averaging a vivid red

"By the term cardinal (Cardinalis) was originally understood every priest permanently attached to a church, every clericus, either intitulatus or incardinatus."