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adj. 1. Being of a specified position in a numbered series: an ordinal rank of seventh. 2. Of or relating to a taxonomic order. n. 1. An ordinal number. 2. Ecclesiastical a. A book of instructions for daily services. b. A book of forms for ordination. [Middle English ordinel, orderly, regular, from Late Latin ōrdinālis, ordinal, from Latin ōrdō, ōrdin-, order; see ar- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots. N., sense 2, from Middle English, from Medieval Latin ōrdināle, from Late Latin, neuter sing. of ōrdinālis, ordinal.] |
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