seraph

[ ser-uhf ]
See synonyms for: seraphseraphimseraphs on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural ser·aphs, ser·a·phim [ser-uh-fim]. /ˈsɛr ə fɪm/.
  1. one of the celestial beings hovering above God's throne in Isaiah's vision. Isaiah 6.

  2. a member of the highest order of angels, often represented as a child's head with wings above, below, and on each side.

Origin of seraph

1
First recorded in 1660–70; back formation from seraphim

Other words from seraph

  • ser·aph·like, adjective

Words Nearby seraph

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use seraph in a sentence

  • A woman will endure martyrdom with the expression of a seraph,—an extremely aggravating seraph.

  • Happiness lay beside him steering the boat, a seraph worked the oars, the land ahead must be paradise.

    The Art of Disappearing | John Talbot Smith
  • Would they indeed have been less criminal, if a seraph of glory had proposed to them the impious deed?

  • Another has joined the band—a little shadowy form, with lambent eyes, and the smile of a seraph.

    Ruth Hall | Fanny Fern
  • She went from town to town, from platform to platform, looking like a little dazed seraph playing in its dreams.

    The Devourers | Annie Vivanti Chartres

British Dictionary definitions for seraph

seraph

/ (ˈsɛrəf) /


nounplural -aphs or -aphim (-əfɪm)
  1. theol a member of the highest order of angels in the celestial hierarchies, often depicted as the winged head of a child

  2. Old Testament one of the fiery six-winged beings attendant upon Jehovah in Isaiah's vision (Isaiah 6)

Origin of seraph

1
C17: back formation from plural seraphim, via Late Latin from Hebrew

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012