Cherubin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A divine entity typically represented with wings and childlike features that signifies innocence and purity within religious contexts
2. A celestial figure often depicted as a small winged child embodying purity and innocence in religious traditions
3. A spiritual creature characterized by youthful, cherubic appearance and wings, symbolizing holiness and grace

Etymology: The word "cherubin" is an obsolete form of "cherub" that English speakers once used for both one angel and many. Its path runs from Hebrew through Greek and Latin, and it reached English in Old English as "cerubin" and "cerubim." Medieval writers used it for the second-highest order of angels and for pictures of such beings, and it was long unclear whether the Bible's passages described one being or a group, so the form served for both singular and plural until the 18th century. The Hebrew original was "k'ruvím," which Greek writers rendered as "kheroubím" and "kheroubeín," and Latin took over as "cherūbīm" and "cherūbīn." English translators of the Bible, from the 16th century onward, gradually settled on "cherub" for the singular and "cherubim" for the plural, with the plural influenced directly by the Hebrew. "Cherubin" therefore survives as a fossil of an older, unsettled usage. The word is cognate with French "chérubin," Italian "cherubino," and Spanish "querubín," all descended from the same Hebrew source.

Synonyms: cherub