Definitions
1.nounOne of the officials appointed by the pope in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking only below the pope and the patriarchs, constituting the special college which elects the pope. (See Wikipedia article on Catholic cardinals.)
2.nounAny of a genus of songbirds of the finch family, Cardinalis.
3.nounAny of various related passerine birds of the family Cardinalidae (See Wikipedia article on cardinals) and other similar birds that were once considered to be related.
4.noun(color) A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red)
5.nounShort for cardinal number, a number indicating quantity, or the size of a set (e.g., zero, one, two, three). (See Wikipedia article on Cardinal number.)
6.noun(grammar) Short for cardinal numeral, a word used to represent a cardinal number.
7.nounShort for cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a flowering plant.
8.nounShort for cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a freshwater fish.
9.noun(bow) A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth.
10.nounMulled red wine.
11.adjectiveOf fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal."a cardinal rule"
12.adjectiveOf or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west)."a cardinal mark"
13.adjectiveDescribing a "natural" number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.
14.adjectiveHaving a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal's cassock).