cardinal

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“
Then the cardinal, whatever he said, very well knew that the horror of bloodshed in this encounter, in which Frenchman would combat against Frenchman, was a retrograde movement of sixty years impressed upon his policy; and the cardinal was at that period what we now call a man of progress.

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Definitions (32)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. adjective Of foremost importance; paramount: a cardinal rule; cardinal sins.
  2. adjective Dark to deep or vivid red.
  3. noun Roman Catholic Church A high church official, ranking just below the pope, who has been appointed by a pope to membership in the College of Cardinals.
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Examples (50)

  • One day it rained so hard that Brother Egidio could not think of going out; the cardinal was already making merry over the thought that he would be forced to accept bread that he had not earned. —  The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life Of St. Francis of Assisi, by Paul Sabatier.
  • However, since the cardinal was the man who had persuaded Prime Minister Cavour and General Garibaldi to concoct the correspondence which had just sent Captain Hesse chasing off in pursuit of a very false trail, it was only to be expected that he would want to find out if his efforts had been successful. —  Prince of the Night
  • It seemed reasonable to conclude that the cardinal was a great danger to her, however solicitous he might sound. —  Prince of the Night
  • There are relatively few policies to point to, and the cardinal has been a steadfast supporter of the stern Roman Catholic opposition to abortion, cloning and euthanasia. —  BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition
  • This circumstance verifies the account that the cardinal was a humane man; and though a zealous catholic, we, as protestants, are willing to render him that honour which his merciful character deserves. —  Fox's Book of Martyrs Or A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

bishop ·  ambassador ·  dignitary ·  nobleman ·  archbishop ·  chancellor ·  fundamental ·  duke ·  admiral ·  sovereign ·  senator ·  emperor

Used in the same contextWord Family

cardinal:   cardinals
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Late Latin cardinālis, principal, pivotal, from Latin, serving as a hinge, from cardō, cardin-, hinge.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. I. a. from Middle English cardinal = Dutch kardinaal = G. Danish Swedish kardinal-(used only in comp.) = French cardinal = Provencal cardinal = Spanish cardinal = Portuguese cardeal = Italian cardinale, important, chief, from Latin cardinalis, pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief (cf. a somewhat similar use of English pivotal). II. n. from Middle English cardinal, cardenal (after Old French), late Anglo-Saxon cardinal = Dutch kardinaal = Middle High German kardenāl, German kardinal = Danish Swedish kardinal = Old French cardinal, cardenal, French cardinal = Provencal Spanish cardenal = Portuguese cardeal = Italian cardinale = Russian kardinalŭ, from Middle Latin cardinalis, a chief presbyter, a cardinal, from the adjective; from Latin cardo (cardin-), a hinge; cf. Greek κραδᾱν, swing.
 

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/ˈkɑrdɪnəl/
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