cardinality

[ kahr-dn-al-i-tee ]

noun

, Mathematics.

, plural car·di·nal·i·ties.

1. (of a set) the cardinal number indicating the number of elements in the set.

cardinality

/ ˌkɑːdɪˈnælɪtɪ /

noun

1. maths the property of possessing a cardinal number
2. maths logic (of a class) the cardinal number associated with the given class. Two classes have the same cardinality if they can be put in one-to-one correspondence

Word History and Origins

Origin of cardinality¹

First recorded in 1930–35; cardinal + -ity

Example Sentences

But if you can assign exactly one seat to each person, then both sets are exactly the same size and thus have the same cardinality.

From Scientific American

It seems that the property of thought that the article describes might better be called “generalized quantity,” “comparative quantity” or “generalized cardinality.”

From Scientific American

As Cantor was able to show, the cardinality of the natural numbers is the smallest possible infinity.

From Scientific American

We don’t have to worry about mixing up the value of the number—its cardinality—with the order in which it arrives—its ordinality—since they are essentially the same thing.

From Literature

Alternatively, it could be termed something else: cardinality, for example.

From Scientific American