cardinal number

[kahr-dn-l nuhm-ber]

noun

1. Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (ordinal number ).

2. Also called potency, power. Mathematics.,  a number or symbol analogous to the number of elements in a finite set, being identical for two sets that can be placed into one-to-one correspondence.

   The cardinal number of the set a1, a2, … an is n.

cardinal number

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: cardinal. a number denoting quantity but not order in a set

2. maths logic

   1. a measure of the size of a set that does not take account of the order of its members Compare natural number

   2. a particular number having this function

cardinal number

1. A number, such as 3, 11, or 412, used in counting to indicate quantity but not order.

2. Compare ordinal number

Word History and Origins

Origin of cardinal number¹

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

For example, in addition to the cardinal numbers described here, many other infinite cardinalities lying between ℵ1 and the continuum have been discovered since the 1940s.

From Scientific American

Chapters in books are usually given the cardinal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on.

From Literature

This attaching to the cardinal numbers above three or four the meanings of the ordinal numbers seems to affect many children on entrance to school.

From Project Gutenberg

HUNDRED, the English name of the cardinal number equal to ten times ten.

From Project Gutenberg

This whole process is familiar; it gives the series of the positive whole numbers, that is, the cardinal numbers.

From Project Gutenberg