ангелъ

Forms

ангелъ (angʹelŭ) m, o-stem^[1] Also written анъгелъ, аггелъ and анћелъ, and very often abbreviated under a titlo (аг҃лъ, ан҃гл).^[2][1][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “angel”), the word of the Septuagint and the New Testament for an angel.^[3][1][4] In Greek the religious sense narrowed the classical meaning of a messenger (in Homer also a messenger of the gods), and the Greek word itself is of unclear, perhaps Oriental origin.^[3] Under Russian ангел (angel), Vasmer cites the Old Church Slavonic and Old Russian form from the Codex Suprasliensis and the Ostromir Gospel and derives it from the Greek.^[4]

From Church Slavonic the word went into the South and East Slavic languages, and by various routes into all the Slavic languages:^[3] the same word is Bulgarian ангел (angel), Macedonian ангел (angel), Serbo-Croatian anđeo, Czech anděl and Slovak anjel.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest Gospel manuscripts, the Codex Zographensis and the Codex Marianus, already use ангелъ for Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos), as in the Annunciation, посъланъ бꙑстъ ангелъ гавьриилъ отъ бога “the angel Gabriel was sent from God” (L 1, 26), mostly abbreviated under a titlo.^[2][5] The Greek–OCS index of the SJS counts it for ἄγγελος 45 times in the Zographensis, 48 times in the Marianus, 46 times in the Codex Assemanianus and 32 times in the Savvina kniga.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the canonical texts the word almost always means an angel;^[3][5] ESJS and the SJS find the older sense of a messenger perhaps once, in ангелъ сотонинъ, the “messenger of Satan” of 2 C 12, 7.^[3][5] Twice it renders Ancient Greek ἀρχάγγελος (arkhángelos), an archangel, and once in the Codex Suprasliensis it stands for Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn, “ruler”), in агг҄ели сотонини, the princes of Satan.^[5][2] The phrase равьнъ ангеломъ “equal to the angels” renders Ancient Greek ἰσάγγελος (isángelos) (L 20, 36).^[2] OCS formed the possessive ангеловъ, the adjective ангельскъ and the compounds ангелообразьнъ and ангелозрачьнъ “angel-like”.^[3]

Later translations kept the word: a Serbian text from the Rila Monastery renders ἄγγελος both by ангелъ and by the native вѣстьникъ “messenger”.^[6] Giltebrandt's dictionary of the Church Slavonic New Testament defines it as a bodiless spiritual being that stands before the throne of God and is sent to serve the salvation of mankind.^[7]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – ангелъ renders ἄγγελος and ἀρχάγγελος in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.^[6]
• 14th century – the Athonite Serbian translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for ἄγγελος.^[6]
• Up to the early 15th century – a Serbian text from the Rila Monastery has both ангелъ and вѣстьникъ for ἄγγελος.^[6]
• 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists every New Testament use of the word.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare) A messenger, envoy; for ἄγγελος.^[5][3][1]
2. An angel; for ἄγγελος.^[5][2][1]
3. An archangel; for ἀρχάγγελος.^[5][2]
4. (figurative) A chief, prince; for ἄρχων.^[5][2]

Word family

• ангеловъ
• ангельскъ
• ангелообразьнъ
• ангелозрачьнъ

Related words

• архангелъ
• вѣстьникъ
• Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos)
• Russian ангел (angel)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Slovník nejstarších staroslověnských památek (digital ed., Gorazd, Slovanský ústav AV ČR, gorazd.org); cf. Cejtlin, R. M.; Večerka, R.; Blagova, É. (eds.) (1994), Staroslavjanskij slovar' (po rukopisjam X–XI vekov), Moskva: Russkij jazyk
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 49
4. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 78
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
6. ^ a b c d SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
7. ^ a b Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg