cardinal
/ˈkɑɹd(ɪ)nəl/ adjective C1- Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal. · a cardinal rule
- Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west). · a cardinal mark
- Describing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.
- Having a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal’s cassock).
- Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force.
From the library
I was for twenty years Cardinal Spada’s secretary; I was arrested, why, I know not, toward the beginning of the year 1811; since then I have demanded my liberty from the Italian and French government.”
“You know,” said the abbé, “that I was the secretary and intimate friend of Cardinal Spada, the last of the princes of that name.
The cardinal’s house had no secrets for me.
“From this starting-point I proceeded to step, having first taken the cardinal points by my pocket-compass.
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