archangelus

Forms

archangelus m (genitive archangelī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀρχάγγελος (arkhángelos).^[1][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Tertullian, who calls an archangel the most eminent of the angels.^[5][2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was a term of Christian Latin.^[2][7][8] The Vulgate uses it in First Thessalonians and in Jude,^[2] and Jerome, writing against Rufinus, says that the archangel ranks before the angels.^[5][2] Isidore of Seville discusses the archangels in his Etymologies.^[5]

In Medieval Latin it named the higher order of angels, above all Michael and Gabriel, and was occasionally used as an honorary title for people.^[3] Bede tells of a figure in white who said he was Michael the archangel,^[4] and Old English glosses render it heahencgel.^[4] English took the word in the late 12th century, from Old French or directly from Late Latin, replacing the native heah encgel.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian calls the archangel the most eminent of the angels.^[5][6]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome says that the archangel comes before the angels.^[5][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in First Thessalonians and Jude.^[2][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains the Greek word as “highest messengers”.^[5][6]
• first third of the 8th century AD – Bede tells of a figure calling himself Michael the archangel.^[4][6]
• late 12th century – Borrowed into English as archangel.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An archangel, an angel of a higher rank.^{[2][8][10][3][4]}
2. (Medieval Latin) An honorary title given to a person.^[3]

Related words

• angelus

Usage notes

Isidore of Seville explained that the Greek archangeli are in Latin summi nuntii, “highest messengers”.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill