cardinal virtue

English

Etymology

See virtue and cardinal, from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge (hence applied to that on which something turns or depends), important, principal, chief”).

Noun

cardinal virtue (plural cardinal virtues)

1. (Christianity, often in the plural) One of the four foundational virtues identified by Greek and Christian philosophers, on which other virtues depend: justice, temperance, prudence, or fortitude.

   Synonym: four virtues

   Hypernym: heavenly virtues (Catholicism, less common)

Translations

one of the four foundational virtues

• Arabic: اَلْفَضَائِل اَلرَّئِيسِيَّة f pl (al-faḍāʔil ar-raʔīsiyya)
• Finnish: kardinaalihyve
• French: vertu cardinale (fr) f
• Irish: suáilcí cairdinéalta f pl, suáilcí bhunúsacha f pl
• Italian: virtù cardinale f
• Polish: cnota kardynalna f

Further reading

• “cardinal virtue”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.