Etymology of the English word cardinal
the English word
cardinalderived from the French word
cardinalderived from the Latin word
cardinalis (pertaining to a door hinge; cardinal, prince of Catholic Church; cardinal, principle, chief)
using the Latin suffix
-alisderived from the Latin word
cardo (hinge; pole, axis)
derived from the Classical Latin word
carduus (thistle; prickly bur, seed-vessel)
Date
The earliest known usage of cardinal in English dates from the 13th century.
Derivations in English
cardinalate,
cardinalfish,
cardinalityCognates
Dutch
kardinaal, French
cardinal, German
Kardinal, Icelandic
kárdínali, Italian
cardinale, Norwegian
kardinal, Portuguese
cardeal, Spanish
cardinal, Spanish
cardenal, Swedish
kardinalUsage
Word found in Modern English
