Ordinal Number
Alternate name
Definition
In common usage, an ordinal number is an adjective which describes the numerical position of an object, e.g., first, second, third, etc. In formal set theory, an ordinal number (sometimes simply called an "ordinal" for short) is one of the numbers in Georg Cantor's extension of the whole numbers. An ordinal number is defined as the order type of a well ordered set. Finite ordinal numbers are commonly denoted using arabic numerals, while transfinite ordinals are denoted using lower case Greek letters.
Related terms
