Definition of: cardinal

(kär′də·nə1) adjective
1. Of prime importance; chief; fundamental; principal.
2. Of a deep scarlet color.
3. Of or relating to a cardinal or cardinals.
—noun
1. One of the ecclesiastical body of the Roman Catholic Church known as the sacred college, an electoral college by which the Pope is elected and which constitutes his chief advisory council; a prince and senator of the Church.
2. A cardinal bird.
3. A short, hooded cloak worn by women in the 18th century.
4. A deep scarlet, the color of a cardinal's cassock.
5. A dyestuff, derived from magenta, for dyeing cardinal-red.
6. A cardinal number. [<F <L cardinalis important <cardo hinge]
—car′di·nal·ly adverb