Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism.
  • noun A representation of such a being, especially in Christianity, conventionally in the image of a human figure with a halo and wings.
  • noun Christianity The last of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. From the highest to the lowest in rank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.
  • noun A guardian spirit or guiding influence.
  • noun A kind and lovable person.
  • noun One who manifests goodness, purity, and selflessness.
  • noun A financial backer of an enterprise, especially a dramatic production or a political campaign.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In modern theat. slang, one who advances money to put a new play on the boards: a financial backer.
  • noun Same as angelfish.
  • noun In theology, one of an order of spiritual beings, attendants and messengers of God, usually spoken of as employed by him in ordering the affairs of the universe, and particularly of mankind.
  • noun Hence — In a sense restricted by the context, one of the fallen or rebellious spirits, the devil or one of his attendants, said to have been originally among the angels of God.
  • noun An attendant or guardian spirit; a genius.
  • noun A person, especially a woman, having qualities such as are ascribed to angels, as beauty, brightness, innocence, and unusual graciousness of manner or kindliness of heart.
  • noun A human being regarded as a messenger of God; one having a divine commission; hence, in the early Christian church, the pastor or bishop of the church in a particular city; among the Irvingites, a bishop.
  • noun A messenger.
  • noun A conventional figure accepted as a representation of the spiritual beings called angels, having a human form endowed with the highest attributes of beauty, clothed in long flowing robes, and furnished with wings attached behind the shoulders.
  • noun An English gold coin, originally of the value of 6s. 8d. sterling, afterward of 8s. and 10s., first struck by Edward IV. in 1465, last by Charles I. in 1634.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare A messenger.
  • noun A spiritual, celestial being, superior to man in power and intelligence. In the Scriptures the angels appear as God's messengers.
  • noun One of a class of “fallen angels;” an evil spirit.
  • noun Archaic A minister or pastor of a church, as in the Seven Asiatic churches.
  • noun Attendant spirit; genius; demon.
  • noun An appellation given to a person supposed to be of angelic goodness or loveliness; a darling.
  • noun (Numis.) An ancient gold coin of England, bearing the figure of the archangel Michael. It varied in value from 6s. 8d. to 10s.
  • noun a bed without posts.
  • noun (Zoöl.) A species of shark (Squatina angelus) from six to eight feet long, found on the coasts of Europe and North America. It takes its name from its pectoral fins, which are very large and extend horizontally like wings when spread. (b) One of several species of compressed, bright colored fishes warm seas, belonging to the family Chætodontidæ.
  • noun [Obs.] standard gold.
  • noun See Angel fish.
  • noun (Mil.) a kind of chain shot.
  • noun [Obs.] a perfumed liquid made at first chiefly from angelica; afterwards containing rose, myrtle, and orange-flower waters, with ambergris, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A divine and supernatural messenger from a deity, or other divine entity.
  • noun The lowest order of angels, below virtues.
  • noun A selfless person.
  • noun military slang An altitude, measured in thousands of feet.
  • noun An affluent individual who provides capital for a startup, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.
  • verb transitive, slang To support by donating money.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun spiritual being attendant upon God
  • noun person of exceptional holiness
  • noun the highest waterfall; has more than one leap; flow varies seasonally
  • noun invests in a theatrical production

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, aungel, from Old English engel or Old French angele, both from Late Latin angelus, from Late Greek angelos, from Greek, messenger.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English angel, aungel, ængel, engel, from Old English ængel, engel ("angel, messenger"), possibly via an early Proto-Germanic *angiluz but ultimately from Latin angelus, from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, "messenger"). Cognate with Scots angel ("angel"), West Frisian ingel ("angel"), Dutch engel ("angel"), Low German engel ("angel"), German Engel ("angel"), Swedish ängel ("angel"), Icelandic engill ("angel"), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aggilus, "angel, messenger").

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Examples

  • Also incidentally, Switters had once been under the impression that the term angel, as applied to certain evolved mavericks within the CIA, was an entirely ironic reference to a dopey book by the evangelist Billy Graham, entitled Angels: God's Secret Agents.

    Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates Robbins, Tom 2000

  • Also incidentally, Switters had once been under the impression that the term angel, as applied to certain evolved mavericks within the CIA, was an entirely ironic reference to a dopey book by the evangelist Billy Graham, entitled Angels: God's Secret Agents.

    Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates Robbins, Tom 2000

  • Matthew and John use the term angel, but Mark and Luke speak of one “dressed in a white garment.”

    A Study of Angels Edward P. Myers 1978

  • Matthew and John use the term angel, but Mark and Luke speak of one “dressed in a white garment.”

    A Study of Angels Edward P. Myers 1978

  • Matthew and John use the term angel, but Mark and Luke speak of one “dressed in a white garment.”

    A Study of Angels Edward P. Myers 1978

  • While the angel is a thrill of no trivial dimension, she's also a tip-off to Kushner's billowing excesses.

    David Finkle: First Nighter: Tony Kushner's Angels in America Flies on Gossamer Wings David Finkle 2010

  • His lips would twist like he tasted something pickle-sour every time he said the word angel.

    Etched in Bone Adrian Phoenix 2011

  • His lips would twist like he tasted something pickle-sour every time he said the word angel.

    Etched in Bone Adrian Phoenix 2011

  • While the angel is a thrill of no trivial dimension, she's also a tip-off to Kushner's billowing excesses.

    David Finkle: First Nighter: Tony Kushner's Angels in America Flies on Gossamer Wings David Finkle 2010

  • While the angel is a thrill of no trivial dimension, she's also a tip-off to Kushner's billowing excesses.

    David Finkle: First Nighter: Tony Kushner's Angels in America Flies on Gossamer Wings David Finkle 2010

  • On TikTok, there are hundreds of thousands of posts under the #angelnumbers hashtag, instructing you how to calculate your own angel number (essentially, by adding up the digits in your birth date); every month, almost half a million people ask Google what 333 means (embrace your creativity and self-expression) or 444 (the angels are sending you love, support, and guidance!). Kylie Jenner often wears a necklace sporting her own angel number, 222, while The Hills’ Kristin Cavallari also has 1111 tattooed on her bicep.

    Angel Numbers Aren’t Real, Says the Woman Who Invented Them E.J. Dickson 2024

  • Finding your angel number is actually pretty simple and can feel kind of magical once you start noticing it. It's usually a number you see popping up all around you, like on the clock, receipts, or even license plates. If a certain number keeps showing up, that's likely your angel number trying to get your attention.

    How can I find what’s my angel number? 2024

  • Taylor, the Pennsylvania woman who believes her failure to notice angel numbers led to her car crash, concedes part of Virtue’s argument when I raise it to her: “A lot of people use not just angel numbers but all woo-woo stuff to avoid responsibility,” she says.

    Angel Numbers Aren’t Real, Says the Woman Who Invented Them E.J. Dickson 2024

Comments

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  • "In the arms of an angel

    Fly away from here

    From this dark cold hotel room

    And the endlessness that you fear

    You are pulled from the wreckage

    Of your silent reverie

    You're in the arms of the angel

    May you find some comfort there"

    January 18, 2007

  • in aviation: one thousand feet of altitude

    April 14, 2008

  • Spy lingo for a member of an enemy agency.

    August 26, 2009