ἄγγελος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Cognate with Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀐𐀫 (a-ke-ro), but origin uncertain. Probably a loanword, and probably related to ἄγγαρος (ángaros, “Persian mounted courier”) (whence Latin angarius), which is probably from an Asian language. Klein suggests Semitic, cf. 𐡀𐡍‬𐡂𐡓𐡕‬𐡀 (’engirtā, “missive, letter; contract”) and ܐܓܪܬܐ (ˀeggarṯā, “letter, document”) (from Akkadian 𒂊𒄈𒌓 (egertu, “inscribed tablet; contract”)). Compare also Sanskrit अजिर (ajira, “agile, swift”), Sanskrit अञ्जि (añji, “commander, sender”) and Sanskrit अञ्जस् (añjas, “speed, velocity”).

The religious sense is a semantic loan from Biblical Hebrew מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ).

Pronunciation

Noun

ἄγγελος • (ángelos) m (genitive ᾰ̓γγέλου); second declension (Epic, Attic, Ionic, Doric, Koine)

1. a messenger
2. one that announces
3. (later) angel, heavenly spirit

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

• Greek: άγγελος (ángelos)
• → Aghwan: 𐔰𐕎𐔲𐔴𐔾𐕒𐕚 (angelos)
• → Aramaic: אנגליא (ˀnglyˀ)
• → Gothic: 𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aggilus)
• → Coptic: ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥ (aggelos)
• → Latin: angelus (see there for further descendants)
• → Old Church Slavonic: анг҄елъ (angʹelŭ) (see there for further descendants)
• → Old Georgian: ანგელოზი (angelozi) (see there for further descendants)
• → Ukrainian: я́нгол (jánhol)

Further reading

• “ἄγγελος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄγγελος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἄγγελος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἄγγελος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄγγελος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἄγγελος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἄγγελος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G32 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • announcer idem, page 30.
  • apostle idem, page 34.
  • bearer idem, page 67.
  • courier idem, page 178.
  • emissary idem, page 268.
  • envoy idem, page 279.
  • forerunner idem, page 337.
  • harbinger idem, page 385.
  • herald idem, page 397.
  • messenger idem, page 527.
  • reporter idem, page 697.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 9
• Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972) “ἄγγελος”, in Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), Heidelberg: Carl Winter
• Klein, Dr. Ernest, A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., 1971.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “ἄγγελος”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.