Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A high-ranking angel.
- n. The eighth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An angel of the highest order; a chief angel. The word occurs in two passages of the Bible, 1 Thes. iv. 16, and Jude 9. Michael, mentioned in the latter as an archangel, also in Daniel as the spiritual prince of the Jews, and in Rev. xii. 7 as the leader of the heavenly hosts against the dragon and his angels, is the St. Michael of the church calendar. Coming after him in dignity, three others are especially known by name as archangels: Gabriel, the heavenly interpreter and annunciator or herald (Dan. viii. 16, ix. 21; Luke i. 19); Raphael, the guardian angel commemorated in the book of Tobit; and Uriel (2 Esd. iv. 1), the fire or light of God, often mentioned, like the others, in Milton's “Paradise Lost.” Three other names are added by tradition to make the number seven (Tobit xii. 15, Rev. viii. 2, where the angels mentioned are taken as archangels), Chamuel, Jophiel or Zophiel, and Zadkiel; and still others are spoken of.
- n. A member of the lowest but one of the nine orders of angels composing the “celestial hierarchy” of Dionysius the pseudo-Areopagite, whose classification was adopted by Pope Gregory the Great, and is generally accepted by the theologians of the Roman Catholic Church. The nine orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, angels.
- n. In botany: The name of several labiate plants, as Stachys sylvatica and species of Lamium.
- n. An umbelliferous plant, Archangelica officinalis. See angelica.
- n. A slim-bodied, thin-faced variety of domestic pigeon, of rather small size, with long head and beak, a peaked crest, and rich metallic lustrous plumage, black on the shoulders and tail, but coppery elsewhere. The origin of the breed is unknown: it was introduced into England from Ghent. The name is supposed to allude to the brilliancy of the plumage. The bird breeds very true, the chief points being the peaked crest and the luster.
Wiktionary
- n. A powerful angel that leads many other angels, but is still loyal to a deity. (Judeo-Christian examples: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel).
- n. In Christian angelology, an archangel is an angel from the third level or choir of angels, ranked above virtues and below powers.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A chief angel; one high in the celestial hierarchy.
- n. (Bot.) A term applied to several different species of plants (Angelica archangelica, Lamium album, etc.).
WordNet 3.0
- n. a biennial cultivated herb; its stems are candied and eaten and its roots are used medicinally
- n. an angel ranked above the highest rank in the celestial hierarchy
Etymologies
- From Latin archangelus, from Ancient Greek ἀρχάγγελος (arkhangelos) from Ancient Greek prefix αρχ- (arch-) + ἄγγελος ("messenger"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French archangele, from Late Latin archangelus, from Late Greek arkhangelos : Greek arkh-, archi- + Greek angelos, angel. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“For me it's a choice between Raphael and Hawke for drinks and since a certain archangel is taken by a certain angel and that she would kick my a** for touching her man, I'll go with Hawke as he's technically not taken yet!”
“Makes me want to kiss a certain archangel, but Elena would kick my ass.”
“Raphael said that the only difference between an angel and an archangel is age and experience, so about what age would an angel be able to turn into an archangel?”
“Michael the archangel is no other than Christ himself, the angel of the covenant, and the Lord of the angels, he whom Daniel saw in vision, v. 5.”
““archangels” — although the word archangel was not then known — that the flames formed themselves round him into a triumphal arch without touching him; that his body had the smell of baked bread; but that, having resisted the fire, he could not preserve himself against a sabre-cut; that his blood put out the burning pile, and that there sprung from it a dove which flew straight to heaven.”
“Her husband is Lafaele, sometimes called the archangel, of whom I have writ you often.”
“There are other references to the archangel Michael—the only one specifically called an archangel.”
“Gabriel is not called an archangel in Scripture but is thought to be one because of his individual prominence in the Bible Dan.”
“But the wings of the archangel are the wings of some great, glorious bird like the eagle, which soars upward toward the sun; the wings of the dragon are more like the wings of a bat, which flies only in darkness and clings to the roofs of caves.”
“It is the Apollo Belvedere of modern times, the "Catholic Apollo," as Forsyth calls the archangel of”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘archangel’.
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LIT - Ulysses - key words and phrases
money cowrie, bedraggle, omphalos, ineluctable, postprandial, bladderwrack, modality barnacle..., loofah, shipworm, cither, embattle, Malachi and 503 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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RELI - words with Biblical connotations
Words in the Bible evoking biblical stories or with special spiritual meaning. Proper names have been reduced to the minimum.
ark, judgement, holy, saint, baptism, spirit, love, eternal, altar, balsam, covenant, flood and 1115 more...
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RELI - words you immediately associat...
baptism, almighty, Balaam, altar, anoint, archangel, apostle, advent, writings, wonders, timbrel, thorns and 341 more...
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religion
who is this god person, anyway? (--Douglas Adams)
sachristy, vestry, diocese, papal, cardinal, pope, polygamy, seven, father, chaplain, vestments, blessing and 227 more...
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Changes
change, changes, Changes, sea change, loose change, ch-ch-changes, oil change, changeling, change of address, the more things c..., don't change hors..., Playing for Change and 15 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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favored
visceral, twinkle, whalebone, incandescent, carousel, entangle, brevity, desolate, twirl, deltoid, graceless, tryst and 94 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, A
abaculus, abacus, abaft, abarticular, abbreviate, abeyance, abiding, anthocyanin, antemeridian, arcane, adjure, adduce and 418 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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Samme's Words
soliloquy, meander, creativity, magic, discovery, happiness, empowerment, abundance, [magnificent], iridescent, artistic, magical and 694 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (A)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
abalone, abbey, abundant, aconite, acorn, addled, adept, aeon, aerie, aglow, ague, aire and 99 more...
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Negasonic Teenage Warhead
"Wow, we really have run out of names."
Codenames of superheroes, supervillains, etc. (that are actual words, or unique spellings of actual words).rogue, gambit, wolverine, storm, cyclops, phoenix, cypher, beast, berzerker, toad, avalanche, magma and 125 more...
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arch-
chief; principal
archbishop, arch-fiend, archdiocese, archbishopric, arch-enemy, archangel, archetype
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Theological Words
a priori, adiaphora, advent, agnosticism, amillennialism, anabaptists, postmillennialism, angel, animism, annihilationism, anthropic principle, anthropomorphic and 96 more...
Tweets
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