Definition of "angel" []

• A typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism. (noun)
• A representation of such a being, especially in Christianity, conventionally in the image of a human figure with a halo and wings. (noun)
• Christianity The last of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. From the highest to the lowest in rank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels. (noun)
• A guardian spirit or guiding influence. (noun)
• A kind and lovable person. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Also incidentally, Switters had once been under the impression that the term angel, as applied to certain evolved mavericks within the CIA, was an entirely ironic reference to a dopey book by the evangelist Billy Graham, entitled Angels: God's Secret Agents."
• "Matthew and John use the term angel, but Mark and Luke speak of one “dressed in a white garment.”"
• "While the angel is a thrill of no trivial dimension, she's also a tip-off to Kushner's billowing excesses."