angel

[eyn-juh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR angel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

one of a class of spiritual beings; a celestial attendant of God. In medieval angelology, angels constituted the lowest of the nine celestial orders (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities or princedoms, archangels, and angels).

a conventional representation of such a being, in human form, with wings, usually in white robes.

a messenger, especially of God.

a person who performs a mission of God or acts as if sent by God: an angel of mercy.

a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness.

a person whose actions and thoughts are consistently virtuous.

an attendant or guardian spirit.

a deceased person whose soul is regarded as having been accepted into heaven.

a person who provides financial backing for some undertaking, as a play, political campaign, or business venture: A group of angels entered the mix, providing George the leverage he needed to take the startup company in a new direction. Angels seek deals that they can exit in less than a decade.

an English gold coin issued from 1470 to 1634, varying in value from 6s. 8d. to 10s. and bearing on its obverse a figure of the archangel Michael killing a dragon.

Slang. an image on a radar screen caused by a low-flying object, as a bird.

verb (used with object), an·geled, an·gel·ing or, esp. British an·gelled, an·gel·ling.

Informal. to provide financial backing for: Two wealthy friends angeled the Broadway revival of his show.

Origin of angel

before 950; 1890–95 for def 9; Middle English a(u)ngel (< Anglo-French, Old French) < Late Latin angelus < New Testament Greek ángelos messenger of God, special use of Greek ángelos messenger; replacing Old English engel < Latin, as above

Can be confusedangel angle

Angel

[eyn-juh l; Spanish ahn-hel]

noun

a male or female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for angel

guardian, cherub, spirit, archangel, sprite, seraph, beauty, treasure, jewel, paragon, ideal, saint, dear, darling, dream, gem

Examples from the Web for angel

Contemporary Examples of angel

Especially not when the display in question includes an angel falling from the sky in flames, surrounded by Biblical verses.
In Florida, ’Tis The Season for Satan
Jay Michaelson
December 7, 2014
Lindsay Ellingson, an “angel” for three years, said she had been inspired by Giselle and Heidi Klum.
I Got Kicked Out Of The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
Nico Hines
December 3, 2014
It was the voice of an angel, but I wanted the face, the photos, the video of the family.
The Life of a Liberian Child with Ebola
Sarah Crowe
November 5, 2014
The baby was naturally attracted to the bowlful of gold and jewels, but an angel intervened and pushed his hand to the other bowl.
Jon Stewart and 'Meet The Press' Would Have Been One Unhappy Marriage
Lloyd Grove
October 9, 2014
Suppose you actually do have an angel over your shoulder telling you the right thing to do.
It’s Official: Religion Doesn’t Make You More Moral
Elizabeth Picciuto
September 23, 2014

Historical Examples of angel

“If an angel be a messenger of God, I trow he is one,” said Tibble.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
That I am not now; nor have I been from the moment I beheld this angel of a woman.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
So there is full proof, that she came not from above all at once an angel!
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
If a call come to a man in prison it will be by an angel who can let him out.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for angel

angel

noun

theol one of a class of spiritual beings attendant upon God. In medieval angelology they are divided by rank into nine orders: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations (or dominions), virtues, powers, principalities (or princedoms), archangels, and angels

a divine messenger from God

a guardian spirit

a conventional representation of any of these beings, depicted in human form with wings

informal a person, esp a woman, who is kind, pure, or beautiful

informal an investor in a venture, esp a backer of a theatrical production

Also called: angel-noble a former English gold coin with a representation of the archangel Michael on it, first minted in Edward IV's reign

informal an unexplained signal on a radar screen

Word Origin for angel

Old English, from Late Latin angelus, from Greek angelos messenger

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

Word Origin and History for angel

14c. fusion of Old English engel (with hard -g-) and Old French angele, both from Latin angelus, from Greek angelos "messenger, envoy, one that announces," possibly related to angaros "mounted courier," both from an unknown Oriental word (Watkins compares Sanskrit ajira- "swift;" Klein suggests Semitic sources). Used in Scriptural translations for Hebrew mal'akh (yehowah) "messenger (of Jehovah)," from base l-'-k "to send." An Old English word for it was aerendgast, literally "errand-spirit."

Of persons, "loving; lovely," by 1590s. The medieval gold coin (a new issue of the noble, first struck 1465 by Edward VI) was so called for the image of archangel Michael slaying the dragon, which was stamped on it. It was the coin given to patients who had been "touched" for the King's Evil. Angel food cake is from 1881; angel dust "phencyclidine" is from 1968.