noun
cardinal
A senior Roman Catholic official; also a red North American songbird.
Where it comes from
Cardinal ordinarily means a senior Roman Catholic official; also a red North American songbird. Cardinal traces to Latin cardo, a door hinge, through cardinalis, pertaining to a hinge and figuratively principal or pivotal. Medieval Latin used cardinalis for leading clergy attached to Rome's principal churches. The church title came to evoke the officials' scarlet dress.
How the meaning developed
English speakers in North America then named the bright red songbird a cardinal because its plumage resembled a cardinal's robes, not because the bird was considered spiritually important.
Sources
Definitions adapted from Open English WordNet where applicable. License and attribution. Word-history text comes from Lexifour’s sourced social research; pages are assembled automatically, not individually fact-checked on every update.
Updated 2026-10-05. Report a correction.