This is the fun of etymology! Until you roll up your sleeves and dig in, you’re often left with more questions than answers. Except, sometimes you luck out!
The male northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is the only crested bright red bird in North America. The females are more brownish with red highlights. Both sexes have black masks, crests, and bright pinkish-reddish bills—and do not migrate. They have distinctive, beautiful calls (take a listen to northern cardinals at Audubon.org!)
An American Original
Cardinals are native to the Americas and range from the eastern half of North American all the way south to Northern Brazil. Europeans during the middle ages and early renaissance had no clue the Americas even existed, so any names the bright red bird carried were of native origin.
To some Native American tribes, the cardinal symbolizes good luck and messages from the spirit world. Other associations are love, loyalty, resilience, and endurance. As all local tribes do, they also had many names for the stunning birds.
The Cherokee call cardinals totsuwa, meaning redbird, and believe that cardinals are messengers for the spirit world. And the news they bring can be good or bad. For example, a singing cardinal near your home means you may have visitors soon. In contrast, one that visits your home can be a sign of death because the bird will carry the person’s soul to the creator when they die.
Beautiful, right?
But what does their name have in common with Catholic cardinals and why do they share an English name?
A Cardinal Origin
Catholic cardinals wear red to symbolize the blood of Christ, or the passion of Christ. It may also symbolize their willingness to put their own lives in danger for the pope.
But let’s get back to their names. Way back in time, over 1,000 years ago, cardinals were the only clergy who had direct access to the pope. As such, they were able to “open doors” and were also known as “hinge men.”
Cardinal originates in the Latin word for hinge, cardnus, or cardo, depending on the noun form. Some of the history is muddy, and historians are unsure whether the European settlers in North America named it after the priests or the color.
Wait, the color?
Oh yes! The color cardinal became associated with a red between scarlet and crimson. And, a cardinal’s robes are a particular type of red—just like the bird.
