ordinal

¹

[ awr-dn-uhl ]

adjective

1. of or relating to an order, as of animals or plants.
2. of or relating to order, rank, or position in a series.

noun

1. an ordinal number or numeral.

ordinal

²

[ awr-dn-uhl ]

noun

1. a directory of ecclesiastical services.
2. a book containing the forms for the ordination of priests, consecration of bishops, etc.

ordinal

/ ˈɔːdɪnəl /

adjective

1. denoting a certain position in a sequence of numbers
2. of, relating to, or characteristic of an order in biological classification

noun

1. short for ordinal number
2. a book containing the forms of services for the ordination of ministers
3. RC Church a service book

Other Words From

• ordi·nal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordinal¹

1590–1600; < Late Latin ōrdinālis in order equivalent to Latin ōrdin- (stem of ōrdō ) order + -ālis -al ¹

Origin of ordinal²

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin ōrdināle, noun use of neuter of ōrdinālis in order. See ordinal ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordinal¹

C14: (in the sense: orderly): from Late Latin ordinalis denoting order or place in a series, from Latin ordō order

Example Sentences

For example, in the ordinal 24th the suffix th is counted as another word.

From Project Gutenberg

A full stop is placed after most abbreviations, after initial letters, and after ordinal numbers in Roman characters.

From Project Gutenberg

Pie, pī, n. a book which ordered the manner of performing divine service: a service-book: an ordinal.

From Project Gutenberg

I reach what M. Couturat calls the ordinal theory which is the foundation of arithmetic properly so called.

From Project Gutenberg

Still more, why should they not happen with regard to family, ordinal, and class distinctions?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• figure
• statistic
• sum
• total