Editing Cardo (section)

==Etymology==
“Cardo” is the Latin word for "hinge".<ref>J. Y. and W. W., “Cardo” in 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', ed. William Smith, William Wayte. G. E. Marindin (London: John Murray, 1890) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cardo-cn</ref> Being the hinge the turning point of the doors, the word ''cardo'' would also be used to designate other “turning points”, like the North Pole of the sky, or the four ''cardinal'' directions (quattuor ''cardines'' orbis terrarum).<ref>Notice that the English expression ''cardinal'' keeps the original root of ''cardo''; cf. J. Y. and W. W., “Cardo” in 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', ed. William Smith, William Wayte. G. E. Marindin (London: John Murray, 1890) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cardo-cn</ref>
Also the “the principal line laid down in surveying land was called ''cardo''",<ref>J. Y. and W. W., “Cardo” in 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', ed. William Smith, William Wayte. G. E. Marindin (London: John Murray, 1890) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cardo-cn</ref> which is also applied to the first street of a city: the street around which the city would be structured.

Most Roman cities also had a ''[[Decumanus|decumanus maximus]]'', an east–west street that served as a secondary main street. Due to varying geography, in some cities the ''decumanus'' is the main street and the ''cardo'' is secondary, but in general the ''cardo maximus'' served as the primary street. The [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] was normally located at, or close to, the intersection of the ''decumanus'' and the ''cardo''.