cardinal
Word family nouncardinalatecardinal numbercardinal pointadjectivecardinalatialcardinaladverbcardinally
Christianity, Numbers
car·di·nal1 /ˈkɑːdənəl $ ˈkɑːr-/ noun [countableC] 1. 
RRCa priest of high rank in the Roman Catholic Church 〔罗马天主教会的〕红衣主教，枢机主教
RRCa priest of high rank in the Roman Catholic Church 〔罗马天主教会的〕红衣主教，枢机主教2. HBPa North American bird. The male is a bright red colour. 红衣凤头鸟，北美红雀〔雄鸟毛色亮红〕
3. HMNa cardinal number 基数
Examples from the Corpus
cardinal• There were a cardinal and an aide to Garibaldi.• The sky was turning violet-dark, and a migration of cars with red taillights flew past us like flocks of cardinals.• Thus Innocent made four of his relatives cardinals, as opposed to Celestine's creation of only one.• The cardinal himself demurred, this prompting a noisy debate between the temporal and ecclesiastical peers.• The two cardinals were so loudly applauded that it was clear they represented the wishes of the majority.
cardinal2 adjectiveadj [only before noun]
BASICvery important or basic 最重要的，主要的；基本的 SYN fundamental
Having clean hands is one of the cardinal rules when preparing food.
双手洁净是准备食物时的一项最基本要求。
an issue of cardinal importance
至关重要的问题
Examples from the Corpus
cardinal• Our policy has but one cardinal principle, and that is the Encyclopedia.• In Gandhi's view, its cardinal sin is the way it tolerates untouchability.• Other particles could take on names of the cardinal virtues.
cardinal rules• Having clean hands is one of the cardinal rules of food preparation.
1. (1100-1200) Medieval Latin cardinalis, from Late Latin ( → CARDINAL2);
2. from the color of a cardinal's clothing
cardinal2 (1200-1300) Old French Late Latin cardinalis, from Latin cardo “hinge” (= part that fastens something so that it can still move)