angel

¹

[ eyn-juhl ]

noun

1. 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).
2. a conventional representation of such a being, in human form, with wings, usually in white robes.
3. a messenger, especially of God.
4. a person who performs a mission of God or acts as if sent by God:

   an angel of mercy.

5. a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness.
6. a person whose actions and thoughts are consistently virtuous.
7. an attendant or guardian spirit.
8. a deceased person whose soul is regarded as having been accepted into heaven.
9. 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.

10. 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.
11. 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, especially British an·gelled, an·gel·ling.

1. Informal. to provide financial backing for:

   Two wealthy friends angeled the Broadway revival of his show.

Angel

²

[ eyn-juhl; Spanish ahn-hel ]

noun

1. a first name.

angel

/ ˈeɪndʒəl /

noun

1. 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
2. a divine messenger from God
3. a guardian spirit
4. a conventional representation of any of these beings, depicted in human form with wings
5. informal.
   a person, esp a woman, who is kind, pure, or beautiful
6. informal.
   an investor in a venture, esp a backer of a theatrical production
7. Also calledangel-noble a former English gold coin with a representation of the archangel Michael on it, first minted in Edward IV's reign
8. informal.
   an unexplained signal on a radar screen

Word History and Origins

Origin of angel¹

First recorded before 950; 1890–95 angel fordef 9; Middle English a(u)ngel, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Late Latin angelus, from New Testament Greek ángelos “messenger of God,” special use of Greek ángelos “messenger” (to translate Hebrew mal'ākh ), of disputed origin, frequently connected to ángaros “Persian mounted courier,” suggesting derivation from an uncertain source possibly akin to Akkadian agâru “to hire” or egertu “letter,” Persian angareh “journal, narrative,” or Sanskrit ajira “swift”; replacing Old English engel, from Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of angel¹

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

Example Sentences

Six hovering angels shade their eyes with their hands, or else they shield their eyes behind transparent colored disks — think 14th century sunglasses.

From Los Angeles Times

The coach has compared Herbert’s mind to a computer chip and his arm to something that can make angels sing.

From Los Angeles Times

It was like a group of angels had come along and said, ‘We can cope with this for you Cheryl, we can do this for you’.”

From BBC

“My little angels, we have finally found you” one family friend, David Garcia, wrote online.

From BBC

In the Book of Revelations, Michael and his army of angels cast Satan and his minions out of heaven.

From Los Angeles Times

How Do You Spell angel?

Spelling tips for angel

The word angel is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is very close in spelling to angle, as in the space between two lines that meet at a point. Second, the beginning sound [ eyn ] is not spelled the way it sounds. 

How to spell angel:  The first letter of angel is a, not e, because Angels are Amazing. The way to remember that angel ends in an l is that both devil and angel are celestial beings, and they both end in l. Similarly, angle and line are both mathematics terms, and they both end in e.