/ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩/, /ˈeɪn.d͡ʒɛl/, /ˈæn.d͡ʒəl/
OriginTwo 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.
- An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes.
“The dear good angel of the Spring, / The nightingale.”
“There seemed to be girls sitting on top of them, or maybe they were meant to be angels. Angels are usually represented as wearing more than that, though.”
- One of the lowest order of such beings, below virtues.
- figurativelySomeone who is pure or innocent.
“Michael Brown, 18, due to be buried on Monday, was no angel, with public records and interviews with friends and family revealing both problems and promise in his young life.”
- figurativelySomeone who is kind or selfless.
“Thanks for making me breakfast in bed, you little angel.”
- figurativelySomeone, especially a woman or child, having youthful, wholesome, or radiant beauty.
- obsoleteAttendant spirit; genius; demon.
“Diſpaire thy Charme, / And let the Angell whom thou ſtill haſt ſeru’d / Tell thee, Macduffe was from his Mothers womb / Vntimely ript.”
- obsolete, possiblyAn official (a bishop, or sometimes a minister) who heads a Christian church, especially a Catholic Apostolic Church.
“An apostle, or angel, or bishop, as he is now called, resided with a college of presbyters about him, in every considerable city of the Roman empire; to that angel or bishop, was committed the pastora”
“[…] the head of that Church, in whose place I stand in my Church, and in whose place no other standeth (the elders and deacons have their place, but this belongeth to the angel or minister of the Chur”
“The second or highest grade consists of the Angels or Bishops of Churches. Each Church has its Angel, who has (1) the higher supervision and care of all the flock, (2) the supervision and care of the ”
- historicalAn English gold coin, bearing the figure of the archangel Michael, circulated between the 15th and 17th centuries, and varying in value from six shillings and eightpence to ten shillings.
- slangAn altitude, measured in thousands of feet.
“Climb to angels sixty.” — ascend to 60,000 feet
“And even now part of me flies over Dresden at angels one five; / Though they’ll never fathom it, behind my sarcasm desperate memories lie.”
- colloquial, datedAn unidentified flying object detected by air traffic control radar.
- An angel investor.
““Latent” angels are defined as those who have not invested capital in the past 12 months, although they likely have invested knowledge in the process of reviewing potential investments.”
- The person who funds a show.
- informalA person who has Angelman syndrome; often capitalized.
- alt-ofAlternative letter-case form of angel.
“When men are impatient with children, it is extremely displeasing to the Angels;”
“But alas, we were directed to climb over the ship to Angels 12 to provide protection to the ship.”
- slang, transitiveTo support by donating money.
“Six years ago, he lost $20,000 in the first show he angelled, a turkey called Dance Night.”
“You've got to come to Chicago to meet Duell, and see Wilson, who's going to angel the show.”
- A male given name from Latin Angelus in turn from Ancient Greek, used since 16th century; or an anglicized spelling of Ángel.
“"What is your first name, Mr Botibol? What does the A stand for?" "Angel," he answered. "Not Angel." "Yes," he said irritably. "Angel Botibol," she murmured and she began to giggle. But she checked he”
- A surname transferred from the nickname originating as a nickname or, rarely, as a patronymic.
“At last when nothing else would do he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel.”
- A female given name from English of modern usage from the English noun angel.
- A player on the team the "Los Angeles Angels" or one of its predecessor "Angels" teams.
“Smith became an Angel as a result of a pre-season trade.”
Formsangels(plural) · Angel(alternative) · angell(alternative, obsolete) · angels(present, singular, third-person) · angeling(US, participle, present) · angelling(UK, participle, present) · angeled(US, participle, past) · angeled(US, past) · angelled(UK, participle, past) · angelled(UK, past) · Angels(plural) · Angell(alternative)
Source: Wiktionary