angel

Pronunciation: /ˈeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəl/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun spiritual being attendant upon God
  2. noun person of exceptional holiness
  3. noun invests in a theatrical production

Etymology

Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century From Middle English aungel, angel, from Old English anġel, either a modification of enġel after its etymon Latin angelus (through the intermediate of Proto-West Germanic *angil) or a reborrowing from the Latin, which is in turn from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “messenger”); later reinforced by Anglo-Norman angele, angel, from the same Latin source. The religious sense of the Greek word first appeared in the Septuagint as a translation of the Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ, “messenger”) or מַלְאָךְ יהוה (malʾāḵ YHWH, “messenger of YHWH”). Doublet of Angelus. Use of the term in some churches to refer to a church official derives from interpreting the "angels" of the Seven churches of Asia in Revelation as being bishops or ministers rather than angelic beings.

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
spiritual being
Narrower (hyponyms)
guardian spirit, seraph, cherub, archangel, divine messenger

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