cardo.
hinge; pole, axis; chief point/circumstance; crisis; tenon/mortise; area; limit;
Meaning & usage
hinge (of a door or gate), usually a pivot and socket in Roman times.
a tenon, mortice, or socket
A street, that ran north–south, in a Roman town or military camp
turning point, critical moment or action
the symbolism of the hinge in ancient Roman religion and myth
a pole
Where this word comes from
Uncertain. Traditionally related to Ancient Greek κράδη (krádē, “twig, spray; swing, crane in the drama”), but unlikely as the concordant sense of swing is metaphorical and likely too recent. Or from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerd- (“to move, sway, swing, jump”) and so cognate with Proto-Germanic *herzô (“bar, pivot, hinge”) (whence English har (“hinge”)). Compare in any case Old High German scerdo (“hinge”).
thistle or some similar plant
Where this word comes from
Variant form of carduus (“wild thistle, artichoke”); see also cardus, cardunculus. Attested in the eighth-century Reichenau Glossary.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.