cherub
[ cher-uh b ]
/ ˈtʃɛr əb /
noun, plural cher·ubs for 3, 4; cher·u·bim [cher-uh-bim, -yoo-bim] /ˈtʃɛr ə bɪm, -yʊ bɪm/ for 1, 2.
a celestial being. Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 1, 10.
Theology. a member of the second order of angels, often represented as a beautiful rosy-cheeked child with wings.
a beautiful or innocent person, especially a child.
a person, especially a child, with a sweet, chubby, innocent face.
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Nearby words
Origin of cherub
before 900; Middle English < Latin < Greek < Hebrew kərūbh; replacing Middle English cherubin, Old English c(h)erubin, cerubim (all singular) < Latin cherūbim < Greek < Hebrew kərūbhīm (plural)
Related formsche·ru·bic [chuh-roo-bik] /tʃəˈru bɪk/, che·ru·bi·cal, adjectivecher·ub·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cherub
British Dictionary definitions for cherub
cherub
/ (ˈtʃɛrəb) /
noun plural cherubs or cherubim (ˈtʃɛrəbɪm, -ʊbɪm)
theol a member of the second order of angels, whose distinctive gift is knowledge, often represented as a winged child or winged head of a child
an innocent or sweet child
Derived Formscherubic (tʃəˈruːbɪk) or cherubical, adjectivecherubically, adverb
Word Origin for cherub
Old English, from Hebrew kěrūbh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cherub
cherub
late 14c. as an order of angels, from Late Latin cherub, from Greek cheroub, from Hebrew kerubh (plural kerubhim) "winged angel," perhaps related to Akkadian karubu "to bless," karibu "one who blesses," an epithet of the bull-colossus. Old English had cerubin, from the Greek plural.
The cherubim, a common feature of ancient Near Eastern mythology, are not to be confused with the round-cheeked darlings of Renaissance iconography. The root of the terms either means "hybrid" or, by an inversion of consonants, "mount," "steed," and they are winged beasts, probably of awesome aspect, on which the sky god of the old Canaanite myths and of the poetry of Psalms goes riding through the air. [Robert Alter, "The Five Books of Moses," 2004, commentary on Gen. iii:24]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper