ordinal

1 of 2

noun

or·​di·​nal ˈȯr-də-nəl How to pronounce ordinal (audio)
ˈȯrd-nəl
1
capitalized [Middle English, from Medieval Latin ordinale, from Late Latin, neuter of ordinalis] : a book of rites for the ordination of deacons, priests, and bishops
2
[Late Latin ordinalis, from ordinalis, adjective] : ordinal number

ordinal

2 of 2

adjective

1
: of a specified order or rank in a series
2
: of or relating to a taxonomic order

Examples of ordinal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
If there were several sisters, ordinals could be used, Claudia Tertia, Claudia Quarta, etc. National Geographic, 4 Nov. 2019
Adjective
East First Avenue has both a numerical designation and an ordinal one. John Kelly, Washington Post, 31 May 2023 In a multilevel ordinal logistic regression that modeled variability in both the stimuli and the raters, there was clear evidence for perceptual similarity in facial photographs of a woman's partner and her brother. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 18 May 2017 The assumption is that something of the essence of institutions, public or private, small or large, religious or not, can be distilled by crunching data and assembling lists with ordinal numbers. Susan Svrluga and Nick Anderson, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Jan. 2023 The only purpose of quantification was to enable [significance testing] to underwrite the ordinal theoretical prediction. Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 31 Jan. 2021 By combining these with other available MSY data, our multi-ordinal comparison allows for the first accounting of levels of selection constraining the evolution of eutherian Y chromosomes. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2013 But with immunity against infection more fragile than some hoped, and a virus that quickly shapeshifts out of antibodies’ grasp, those ordinal adjectives have stopped making sense. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ordinal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Late Latin ordinalis, from Latin ordin-, ordo

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ordinal was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ordinal

Cite this Entry

“Ordinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordinal. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ordinal

noun
or·​di·​nal
ˈȯrd-nəl,
-ᵊn-əl
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