cardinal number

cardinal number
1. Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
2. Also called potency, power. Math. 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.
[1585-95]

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cardinal number — Number Num ber (n[u^]m b[ e]r), n. [OE. nombre, F. nombre, L. numerus; akin to Gr. no mos that which is dealt out, fr. ne mein to deal out, distribute. See {Numb}, {Nomad}, and cf. {Numerate}, {Numero}, {Numerous}.] 1. That which admits of being… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cardinal number — also cardinal n a number such as 1, 2, or 3, that shows how many of something there are, but not what order they are in →↑ordinal number …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • cardinal number — cardinal numbers N COUNT A cardinal number is a number such as 1, 3, or 10 that tells you how many things there are in a group but not what order they are in. Compare ordinal number …   English dictionary

  • cardinal number — 1590s, one, two, three, etc. as opposed to ORDINAL (Cf. ordinal) numbers first, second, third, etc.; so called because they are the principal numbers and the ordinals depend on them (see CARDINAL (Cf. cardinal)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • cardinal number — noun count an ordinary number such as 1, 2, or 3, as opposed to an ordinal number such as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • cardinal number — ► NOUN ▪ a number denoting quantity (one, two, three, etc.), as opposed to an ordinal number (first, second, third, etc.) …   English terms dictionary

  • cardinal number — n. any number used in counting or in showing how many (e.g., two, forty, 627, etc.): distinguished from ORDINAL NUMBER …   English World dictionary

  • Cardinal Number —   [engl.], Kardinalzahl …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Cardinal number — This article describes cardinal numbers in mathematics. For cardinals in linguistics, see Names of numbers in English. In mathematics, cardinal numbers, or cardinals for short, are generalized numbers used to measure the cardinality (size) of… …   Wikipedia

  • cardinal number — noun a) A number used to denote quantity; a counting number. The smallest cardinal numbers are 0, 1, 2, and 3. b) A generalized kind of number used to denote the size of a set, including infinite sets. <!Is this true? Infinite is not a… …   Wiktionary

  • cardinal number — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms cardinal number : singular cardinal number plural cardinal numbers an ordinary number such as 1, 2, or 3, as opposed to an ordinal number such as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”