Etymologically
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angel

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈeɪn.dʒəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English angel, aungel, inherited from Old English engel, fused about 1300 with Old French angele,[2][3] both from Late Latin angelus,[2][3][4] from Greek Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “messenger”).[2][3][5] The Old English word was one of the earliest Germanic borrowings from Latin.[4] In the Septuagint the Greek word translated Hebrew mal'akh “messenger”.[3][2][6] Its own origin is uncertain: Beekes compares Greek ángaros “Persian mounted courier”, of Iranian origin, while Klein suggests Semitic sources.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A divine messenger, one of an order of spiritual beings attending God: about 950 in the OED.[7] The fallen angels are also from about 950.[7]

Semantic evolution

Old English also called an angel aerendgast, literally “errand-spirit”.[2] A guardian spirit is from 1382.[7] Of persons, someone lovely or gracious, it is by the 1590s.[2] The angel was also an English gold coin, first struck in 1465 by Edward IV, stamped with the archangel Michael killing the dragon.[2][5][8] In slang, a financial backer, especially of a theatrical production, is from 1885, and the verb “to finance” from 1904 (1929 in the OED).[8][7][6] Angel food cake is by 1881 and angel dust from 1968.[2] Angelic is from about 1385, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – a divine messenger.[7]
  • c. 1300 – the form angel.[2][3]
  • 1382 – a guardian spirit.[7]
  • 1465 – the gold coin.[2]
  • 1590s – a lovely person.[2]
  • 1885 – a financial backer.[8]
  • 1929 – verb, to finance.[7][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A spiritual being believed to serve God as a messenger or attendant, often shown with wings.
  2. A very kind or good person.
  3. (informal) A person who gives money to support a play or business.
  4. A former English gold coin.

Verb

  1. (informal) To provide money for a play or business.

Word family

  • angelic
  • angelically
  • angelhood
  • angelfish
  • angelology
  • archangel
  • angel of death
  • destroying angel
  • Angelus
  • evangel
  • evangelist

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)