\Car"di*nal\, a. [L. cardinalis, fr. cardo the hinge of
a door, that on which a thing turns or depends: cf. F.
cardinal.]
Of fundamental importance; pre["e]minent; superior; chief;
principal.
      The cardinal intersections of the zodiac. --Sir T.
                                               Browne.
      Impudence is now a cardinal virtue.      --Drayton.
      But cardinal sins, and hollow hearts, I fear ye.
                                               --Shak.
{Cardinal numbers}, the numbers one, two, three, etc., in
   distinction from first, second, third, etc., which are
   called {ordinal numbers}.
{Cardinal points}
(a) (Geol.) The four principal points of the compass, or
    intersections of the horizon with the meridian and the
    prime vertical circle, north, south east, and west.
(b) (Astrol.) The rising and setting of the sun, the zenith
    and nadir.
{Cardinal signs} (Astron.) Aries, Libra, Cancer, and
   Capricorn.
{Cardinal teeth} (Zo["o]l.), the central teeth of bivalve
   shell. See {Bivalve}.
{Cardinal veins} (Anat.), the veins in vertebrate embryos,
   which run each side of the vertebral column and returm the
   blood to the heart. They remain through life in some
   fishes.
{Cardinal virtues}, pre["e]minent virtues; among the
   ancients, prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude.
{Cardinal winds}, winds which blow from the cardinal points
   due north, south, east, or west.

\Car"di*nal\, n. [F. carinal, It. cardinale, LL.
cardinalis (ecclesi[ae] Roman[ae]). See {Cardinal}, a.]
1. (R. C. Ch.) One of the ecclesiastical princes who
   constitute the pope's council, or the sacred college.
         The clerics of the supreme Chair are called
         Cardinals, as undoubtedly adhering more nearly to
         the hinge by which all things are moved. --Pope Leo
                                               IX.
Note: The cardinals are appointed by the pope. Since the time
      of Sixtus V., their number can never exceed seventy
      (six of episcopal rank, fifty priests, fourteen
      deacons), and the number of cardinal priests and
      deacons is seldom full. When the papel chair is vacant
      a pope is elected by the college of cardinals from
      among themselves. The cardinals take precedence of all
      dignitaries except the pope. The principal parts of a
      cardinal's costume are a red cassock, a rochet, a short
      purple mantle, and a red hat with a small crown and
      broad brim, with cords and tessels of a special pattern
      hanging from it.
2. A woman's short cloak with a hood.
         Where's your cardinal! Make haste.    --Lloyd.
3. Mulled red wine. --Hotten.
{Cardinal bird}, or {Cardinal grosbeak} (Zo["o]l.), an
   American song bird ({Cardinalis cardinalis}, or {C.
   Virginianus}), of the family {Fringillid[ae]}, or finches
   having a bright red plumage, and a high, pointed crest on
   its head. The males have loud and musical notes resembling
   those of a fife. Other related species are also called
   cardinal birds.
{Cardinal flower} (Bot.), an herbaceous plant ({Lobelia
   cardinalis}) bearing brilliant red flowers of much beauty.
{Cardinal red}, a color like that of a cardinal's cassock,
   hat, etc.; a bright red, darker than scarlet, and between
   scarlet and crimson.