cherub
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: biblical
lifestyle
religion
Etymology: From Middle English cherub, cherube, cherubin, cherubine, cherubym, cherubyn, cherybin, gerubin, jerubin (“angel of the second highest order; depiction of such an angel”), from Old English cerubin, cerubim, ceruphin, cherubin, from Latin cherūbīm, cherūbīn, from Ancient Greek χερουβῑ́μ (kheroubī́m), χερουβείν (kheroubeín), χερουβίμ (kheroubím), from Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím);.
Because it was not always clear from Bible passages whether a single being or group of beings was being referred to, cherubin was used both as a singular word (plural cherubins) and plural word up to the 18th century. However, in Bible translations particularly from the 16th century onward cherub began to be favoured as the singular form, and from the 17th century cherubim as the plural form (influenced by Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím)).
The English word is cognate with French chérubin, Italian cherubino, Old Spanish cherubin (modern Spanish querubín), Galician querubín, Portuguese querubim.
Inflected forms:
form: cherubs
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: cherubim
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: cherubims
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: cherubin
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
plural
Senses:
gloss: A winged creature attending God and guarding his throne described as a being with four faces (man, lion, ox, and eagle), human hands, calf hooves, four wings, and many eyes. A description can be found in Ezekiel chapter 1 and Ezekiel chapter 10; similar to a lamassu (winged bull with a human torso) in the pre-exilic texts of the Hebrew Bible, more humanoid in later texts.
pos: noun
gloss: A winged angel, described by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 5th–6th century) as the second highest order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim.
pos: noun
examples: Over the arcke were the cherubyns off glory shadowynge the seate of grace.
So he [God] droue out the man [Adam]: and he placed at the East of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a flaming ſword, which turned euery way, to keepe the way of the tree of life.
About his Chariot numberleſs were pour'd / Cherub and Seraph, Potentates and Thrones, / And Vertues, winged Spirits, and Chariots wing'd, […]
O Daughter of the Roſe, […] / Whoſe Face is Paradiſe, but fenc'd from Sin: / For God in either Eye has plac'd a Cherubin.
[B]y cherubs is signified guard and providence lest the Lord should be come at except by the good of love, thus to prevent any entering into heaven except they who are in good, also to prevent those who are in heaven, from being approached and hurt by those who are in hell. From these things it may be manifest what was signified by the propitiatory being over the ark, and by the cherubs being over the propitiatory and by the propitiatory and the cherubs being of pure gold; for gold signifies the good of love, and the ark heaven where the Lord is. [Interpreting Exodus 25:17–22 of the Bible.]
But I doubt not, that leathern tally, meant for man, was taken off in Heaven, when the white fowl flew to join the wing-folding, the invoking, and adoring cherubim!
Angels and Archangels / May have gathered there, / Cherubim and Seraphim / Thronged the air; / But only His Mother / In her maiden bliss / Worshiped the Beloved / With a kiss.
gloss: In later texts changed to a winged baby; in artistic depictions sometimes a baby's head with wings but no body.
pos: noun
examples: For ſome colour of ſetting vp their idols in Churches to bee worſhiped, they full ſimply alledge the Cherubins that were ſet vp in the temple which Solomon built, which M. [William] Bishop ſaith were the images of Angels, and that they did repreſent the Angels wee will not deny, but of what ſhape they were, no man ſaith Joſephus, can cõiecture or affirme any thing.
When my father returned from Milan, he found playing with me in the hall of our villa a child fairer than pictured cherub – a creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks and whose form and motions were lighter than the chamois of the hills.
Finally I must have drifted off, because I dreamt we were in a terrible frightening place – there was a giant, standing on a hill, looking down at us. But then a cherub came to rescue me – it must have been that cherub in stone that Papa promised to carve for me. I remember feeling safe then, and after that I slept soundly all night.
The kennels occupied a long brick building designed to resemble the palace in miniature. Inside, the walls were painted with murals of dogs frolicking in the woods and giving chase to a frightened fox while chubby canine cherubim smiled down at them.
gloss: A person, especially a child, seen as being particularly angelic or innocent.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: Patience, thou young and rose-lipp'd Cherubin.
This fell whore of thine, / Hath in her more deſtruction then thy Sword, / For all her Cherubin looke.
[T]he zippy musical numbers in which Mary Poppins (a stiff-lipped Emily Blunt) whisks cherubs Annabel, John, and Georgie (Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson, respectively) away into colorful hyperreal fantasias impress.
Related words: cherubimic
cherubimical
Derived words: cherubic
cherubical
cherubically
cherubism
cherubless
cherublike
Translations: