Tricky Words in this week‘s OVI

Cardinal. This is an interesting rather than a tricky word. It comes from the Latin word cardo meaning a hinge (záves dverí, pánt), so it indicates something which other things turn on, determining the direction of other things, something crucial, decisive and primary. The cardinals are the leaders of the Catholic Church, answering to (and electing) the Pope. The cardinal rules of safety are the topmost important rules which all others are derived from. The cardinal points are the four hlavné svetové strany, north, south, east and west, where the cardinal winds blow from. The cardinal sins are the seven deadly sins (smrteľné hriechy), i.e. pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. And the cardinal numbers are the ones we use for counting (one, two, three, four, etc.), whereas the ordinal numbers are first, second, third, fourth, etc.