Standard Lemma guide

cardinality

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /kɑːdɪˈnælɪti/
  • General-American: /kɑɹdɪˈnælɪti/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The number of elements a given set contains.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: mathematics, sciences, set-theory

Examples

  • The empty set has a cardinality of zero.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: power

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The number of terms that can inhabit a type; the possible values of a type.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: type theory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The property of a relationship between a database table and another one, specifying whether it is one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: data modeling

Topics: computing, databases, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The status of being cardinalitial

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: lifestyle, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

(mathematics) the number of elements in a set or group (considered as a property of that grouping)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: number

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin cardō Proto-Indo-European *h2el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin cardinālisder. Middle French cardinalbor. English cardinal Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English cardinality From cardinal + -ity.

Across languages

Translations

55 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: հզորություն (hzorutʻyun) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Bulgarian: кардиналност (kardinalnost) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Chinese Mandarin: 勢 /势 (shì) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Czech: mohutnost — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Czech: kardinalita — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Danish: mægtighed — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Danish: kardinalitet — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Dutch: kardinaliteit — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Estonian: võimsus — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Finnish: mahtavuus — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • French: cardinalité — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • German: Mächtigkeit — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • German: Kardinalität — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Greek: πληθάριθμος (plithárithmos) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Hebrew: עָצְמָה — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Hindi: प्रमुखता (pramukhtā) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Hungarian: számosság — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Icelandic: fjöldatala — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Irish: bunuimhreacht — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Italian: cardinalità — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Italian: numerosità — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Italian: potenza — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Japanese: 濃度 (nōdo) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Kazakh: жиын қуаты (jiyn quaty) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Korean: 집합의 크기 (jiphabui keugi) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Korean: 농도 (nongdo) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Macedonian: моќност (moḱnost) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kardinalitet — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Polish: liczebność — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Polish: moc — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Polish: kardynalność — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Portuguese: cardinalidade — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Romanian: cardinalitate — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Romanian: mărime (potențială) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Russian: мо́щность — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Slovak: mohutnosť — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Slovene: moč množice — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Spanish: cardinalidad — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Swedish: kardinalitet — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Tamil: எண் அளவை (eṇ aḷavai) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Thai: ภาวะเชิงการนับ (p̣hāwa cheing kār nạb) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Ukrainian: потужність (potužnistʹ) — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Vietnamese: lực lượng — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Vietnamese: lực lượng của một tập hợp — (set theory) number of elements a given set contains
  • Bulgarian: кардиналност (kardinalnost) — (type theory) number of terms that can inhabit a type
  • Polish: liczebność — (type theory) number of terms that can inhabit a type
  • Polish: moc — (type theory) number of terms that can inhabit a type
  • Polish: kardynalność — (type theory) number of terms that can inhabit a type
  • Bulgarian: кардиналност (kardinalnost) — (data modeling) property of a relationship between a database table and another one
  • French: cardinalité — (data modeling) property of a relationship between a database table and another one
  • Polish: liczebność — (data modeling) property of a relationship between a database table and another one
  • Polish: moc — (data modeling) property of a relationship between a database table and another one
  • Polish: kardynalność — (data modeling) property of a relationship between a database table and another one
  • French: cardinalité — (religion) status of being cardinalitial
  • Polish: kardynalność — (religion) status of being cardinalitial