seraph

[ ser-uhf ]

noun

, plural ser·aphs, ser·a·phim [ser, -, uh, -fim].

1. one of the celestial beings hovering above God's throne in Isaiah's vision. Isaiah 6.
2. a member of the highest order of angels, often represented as a child's head with wings above, below, and on each side.

seraph

/ ˈsɛrəf /

noun

1. theol a member of the highest order of angels in the celestial hierarchies, often depicted as the winged head of a child
2. Old Testament one of the fiery six-winged beings attendant upon Jehovah in Isaiah's vision (Isaiah 6)

Other Words From

• seraph·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of seraph¹

First recorded in 1660–70; back formation from seraphim

Word History and Origins

Origin of seraph¹

C17: back formation from plural seraphim, via Late Latin from Hebrew

Example Sentences

Supported by a flight of blue seraphim, God presides over an image of the entire world, which the artist has abstracted into concentric circles.

From Washington Post

Foul-mouthed seraph Ashnikko first strikes viewers with her long blue pigtails and ethereal humanoid beauty.

From Los Angeles Times

He developed a style of writing that extended the seraphs of letters into arrows or dynamic vectors resembling missiles, rendering them all but illegible, except to the initiated.

From Washington Post

If the museum becomes a mosque, the mosaics will have to be covered during Muslim prayers somehow, including seraphs high up at the base of the dome.

From New York Times

Her sister seraphim teach her that a woman without love is like an “angel without wings.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• angelic
• pious
• upstanding