ordinal
ordinal Lexical Profile
ordinal Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to or denoting a specific position, rank, or order in a sequential series (such as 'first', 'second', or 'third', as opposed to cardinal numbers like 'one', 'two', or 'three').
"When formatting formal dates, style guides generally advise against using ordinal suffixes like 'st' or 'th' after the day of the month."
Relating to a taxonomic order of plants or animals in biological classification.
"Biologists debated whether the newly discovered fossil shared enough anatomical traits to change its ordinal classification."
• noun
An ordinal number designating place or rank in an ordered sequence (such as 'first', 'second', or 'third').
"Young language learners usually master basic counting before they learn how to use ordinals to describe race results."
A liturgical book containing the prescribed forms and rites for the ordination and consecration of bishops, priests, and deacons.
"The cathedral archive preserved a sixteenth-century ordinal bound in embossed leather."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'ordinal' with 'cardinal': ordinal numbers indicate position or rank in a sequence (e.g., first, second, third), whereas cardinal numbers indicate quantity or count (e.g., one, two, three).
• Rhymes for ordinal
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Late Latin ordinalis ('of order, showing order in a series'), derived from Latin ordo, ordinis meaning 'row, rank, series, or arrangement'.