Angel

AN'GEL, n. Usually pronounced angel, but most anomalously. [L. angelus; Gr. a messenger, to tell or announce.]
1. Literally, a messenger; one employed to communicate news or information from one person to another at a distance. But appropriately,
2. A spirit, or a spiritual intelligent being employed by God to communicate his will to man. Hence angels are ministers of God, and ministring spirits. Heb 1.
3. In a bad sense, an evil spirit; as, the angel of the bottomless pit. Math. 25. 1 Cor 6. Rev 9.
4. Christ, the mediator and head of the church. Rev 10.
5. A minister of the gospel, who is an embassador of God. Rev 2 and 3.
6. Any being whom God employs to execute his judgments. Rev 16.
7. In the style of love, a very beautiful person.
AN'GEL, n. A fish found on the coast of Carolina, of the thoracie order and genus Chaetodon. It has a small projecting mouth; the lamens above the gills are armed with cerulean spines; the body, a foot in length, appears as if cut off, and waved, and covered with large green scales.
AN'GEL, n. A gold coin formerly current in England, bearing the figure of an angel. Skinner says, this device was impressed upon it in allusion to an observation of Pope Gregory the Great, who, seeing some beautiful English youths, in the market at Rome, asked who they were; being told they were Angli, English, he replied, they ought rather to be called angeli, angels. This coin had different values under different princes; but is now an imaginary sum or money of account, implying ten shillings sterling.
AN'GEL, a. Resembling angels; angelic; as, angel whiteness.

NEW: Google Full-Text Search of Webster's 1828 Custom Search Search Webster's 1828 Advanced Search

You can also look up words at dict.sorabji.com