Cardinal numeral

This article is about the linguistic concept. For numbers used to measure the size of sets, see Cardinal number.

Cardinal versus ordinal numbers

Cardinal		Ordinal
one	1	first	1st
two	2	second	2nd
three	3	third	3rd
four	4	fourth	4th
five	5	fifth	5th
six	6	sixth	6th
seven	7	seventh	7th
eight	8	eighth	8th
nine	9	ninth	9th
ten	10	tenth	10th

In linguistics, and more precisely in traditional grammar, a cardinal numeral (or cardinal number word) is a part of speech used to count. Examples in English are the words one, two, three, and the compounds three hundred [and] forty-two and nine hundred [and] sixty. Cardinal numerals are classified as definite, and are related to ordinal numbers, such as the English first, second, third, etc.^[1][2][3]

See also

• Arity
• Cardinal number for the related usage in mathematics
• English numerals (in particular the Cardinal numbers section)
• Distributive number
• Multiplier
• Numeral for examples of number systems
• Ordinal number
• Valency

References

Notes

1. David Crystal (2011). Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-405-15296-9.
2. Hadumo Bussmann (1999). Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-20319-7.
3. James R. Hurford (1994). Grammar: A Student's Guide. Cambridge University Press. pp. 23–24. ISBN 978-0-521-45627-2.