cardinality
|car-di-nal-i-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌkɑrdɪˈnælɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌkɑːdɪˈnælɪti/
how many; primary importance
Etymology
'cardinality' originates from Medieval Latin, specifically the word 'cardinalitas', where Latin 'cardinalis' (from 'cardo') conveyed the idea of a hinge or something fundamental, and the suffix '-itas' (from Latin) formed a noun of quality or state.
'cardinality' changed from Medieval Latin 'cardinalitas' (and related Old French forms such as 'cardinalité') and eventually became the modern English word 'cardinality' via learned borrowing from Latin/French into English.
Initially, it meant 'the state or quality of being cardinal (chief importance)'; over time it acquired a prominent technical sense in mathematics meaning 'the number of elements in a set' and further applied senses in computer science and databases.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
in mathematics, the number of elements in a set; a measure of the size of a set (including distinctions among finite and infinite cardinalities).
The cardinality of the set A is 5.
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Noun 2
in databases and information systems, (a) the number of distinct values in a column (often described as high or low cardinality), and (b) the nature of relationships between entities (e.g., one-to-one, one-to-many).
This column has high cardinality, so indexing it may not improve performance.
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Noun 3
the state or quality of being cardinal — i.e., fundamental or of chief importance.
The cardinality of the principle is clear: everything else follows from it.
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Last updated: 2025/10/18 10:00