The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Cardinal is the Latin word for “hinge.” All of the other virtues hinge around these four virtues. This includes the lesser virtues which are corollaries of these and the higher theological virtues of faith, hope, and love which could be called the fruit of the cardinal virtues.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides concise definitions for these four virtues: