cardinal
cardinal
adjective kahr-dee-NAHL Rare
Origin: From Latin cardinalis, 'principal, chief', from cardo (stem cardin-), 'hinge'.
Also means
fundamental
Usage Note
Cardinal means 'of fundamental importance' (los puntos cardinales — the cardinal compass points: norte, sur, este, oeste). In grammar, número cardinal refers to a counting number (one, two, three) as opposed to an ordinal. As a noun, el cardenal (note the extra -e-) refers to the Catholic church official or the bruise/hematoma in informal speech.
Examples
"Los cuatro puntos cardinales son norte, sur, este y oeste."
Natural Translation
The four cardinal points are north, south, east, and west.
Related Words
Explore Spanish by topic
SpanishNow
6 min read