ordinal

noun

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or·di·nal | \ ˈȯrd-nəl

, ˈȯr-də-nəl \

Definition of ordinal

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

adjective

Definition of ordinal (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : of a specified order or rank in a series

2 : of or relating to a taxonomic order

Example Sentences Phrases Containing ordinal Learn More About ordinal

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 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective With just three primary colors (plus black and white) and two ordinal directions, Piet Mondrian took painting to new levels of abstraction. — The Art Newspaper, CNN, 5 Jan. 2022 From the insight derivation or analytics perspective, the structure provides the right data type (i.e., nominal, ordinal or numeric). — Prashanth Southekal, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021 The sections are constructed of scraps and vignettes, fragmentary pieces of memory that hop around the time line, following their own ordinal logic. — Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2019 The second is ordinal-linguistic personification, or OLP, in which different parts of a sequence — days of the week, but also things like letters of the alphabet and months of the year — are each imbued with their own unique personalities. — Cari Romm, The Cut, 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ordinal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.