Etymology

cardinal

car·din·al
C3A1R1D2I1N1A1L1

Today it means: Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal. Full definition →

Middle French cardina ← Latin cardinālis ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?
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cardinal · adjective, noun1

  1. Latincardō
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  4. Latincardinālis
  5. Middle Frenchcardina
  6. English todaycardinal

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.

Cardinal · noun2

Capitalization of cardinal (bird).

Cardinal · noun3

Capitalization of cardinal (color).

Cardinal · proper noun4

  1. Latin · derived fromcardinālis
  2. French · derived fromcardinal
  3. Canadian French · borrowed fromCardinal
  4. English todayCardinal

From Canadian French Cardinal, from French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis.

Words from the same roots

Latincardinālis all →

charnelcardinal virtue

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.