Theology. a chief or principal angel; in medieval angelology one of the nine orders of celestial attendants on God.
Russian Arkhangelsk. a seaport in the northwestern Russian Federation in Europe, on Dvina Bay.
Gulf of Archangel, former name of Dvina Bay.
a principal angel, a member of the order ranking immediately above the angels in medieval angelology
another name for angelica
a Eurasian herbaceous plant ( Lamiastrum luteum ) that has yellow helmet-shaped flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
a bronze-coloured breed of domestic pigeon with black markings
before 1000; early Middle English arc ( h ) angel < Anglo-French, Old French arc ( h ) ang ( e ) le < Late Latin archangelus < Greek archángelos; replacing Old English hēahengel; see high, arch- 1, angel
In religious writing, an archangel is the most important angel of all, sometimes described as ranking above the regular angels. You'll come across the noun archangel if you're reading Christian, Judaic, or Islamic religious texts. In the Christian Bible, the word archangel is only used twice, once generally and once to refer to Michael, although there are many other figures in Christianity considered to be archangels. The Greek root word, arkhangelos, is made up of arkh, "first or chief," and angelos, "angel."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an Instagram video the day before, she had worn a red and silver pendant of the archangel Michael, his wings spread out in triumph, a shield in one hand and a sword in another.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
The images were a well-known 14th-century painting of Muhammad and the archangel Gabriel by Persian scholar Rashid al-Din, and a 16th-century Ottoman Turkish illustration by Mustafa ibn Vali.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 9, 2023
Such a move isn't entirely unprecedented, after all; wasn't it thrilling to see Tilda Swinton swooped in at the end of 2005's "Constantine" as the archangel Gabriel?
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2022
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, named for an archangel and a revered Jewish scholar, gave his first sermon when he was 11.
From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2021
He laughed, and then began to hum that same, unfamiliar lullaby; the voice of an archangel, soft in my ear.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
Instead of depicting the Archangel Gabriel visibly, he only suggested his presence.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
He also said he was Michael the Angel of Death, referencing the Archangel Michael, who is tasked with escorting souls to the afterlife, prosecutors said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, a few miles away, put together a migration forum with Catholic Legal Services in mid-February.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2023
By 2017, it had purchased several dozen of the Iomax Archangel, a plane whose design is based on crop-dusting planes manufactured by Thrush, a Georgia manufacturer of agricultural aircraft mostly for the U.S. market.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2022
“Tell me what color the Archangel Raphael is wearing.”
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
By the late 17th century, paintings of musket-wielding archangels were popular in the borderlands of modern Bolivia and Peru.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name; evermore praising thee, and saying,
From BBC ● May 5, 2023
With a fanciful, skillfully written score, the piece presents a beguiling present-day story of a group of hapless archangels having trouble recruiting a young woman to bear God in human form.
From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2022
May Otis Blackburn was a 60-year-old clairvoyant when the archangels Michael and Gabriel appeared to her and her daughter Ruth, the “girl of many loves,” as the press delighted in calling her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
The damp grass along the edges of the paths was dotted with spikes of mauve bugle, and the sanicles and yellow archangels flowered thickly.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
