Definition of "cardinalate" []

• Roman Catholic Church The position, rank, dignity, or term of a cardinal. (noun)
• Roman Catholic Church The College of Cardinals. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Capelo a pelo could mean that as a result of the church construction somebody received a cardinalate from the Pope."
• "Certain offices lead to it, and are known as cardinalate offices."
• "Other than the papal throne, the cardinalate is the highest position in the Catholic Church; it is this group of 120 men younger than 80 that elects a new pope."