noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛɹəb
CMU ARPABET:CH EH1 R AH0 B
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A winged creature attending God and guarding his throne described as a being with four faces (man, lion, ox, and eagle), human hands, calf hooves, four wings, and many eyes. A description can be found in Ezekiel chapter 1 and Ezekiel chapter 10; similar to a lamassu (winged bull with a human torso) in the pre-exilic texts of the Hebrew Bible, more humanoid in later texts.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biblical, lifestyle, religion
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A winged angel, described by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 5th–6th century) as the second highest order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: post-biblical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
In later texts changed to a winged baby; in artistic depictions sometimes a baby's head with wings but no body.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: amoretto, cupid, putto
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A person, especially a child, seen as being particularly angelic or innocent.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: angel, innocent
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
an angel of the second order whose gift is knowledge; usually portrayed as a winged child
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: angel
6
noun
Meaning 6
a sweet innocent baby
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: baby, babe, infant
History
Etymology
From Middle English cherub, cherube, cherubin, cherubine, cherubym, cherubyn, cherybin, gerubin, jerubin (“angel of the second highest order; depiction of such an angel”), from Old English cerubin, cerubim, ceruphin, cherubin, from Latin cherūbīm, cherūbīn, from Ancient Greek χερουβῑ́μ (kheroubī́m), χερουβείν (kheroubeín), χερουβίμ (kheroubím), from Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím);. Because it was not always clear from Bible passages whether a single being or group of beings was being referred to, cherubin was used both as a singular word (plural cherubins) and plural word up to the 18th century. However, in Bible translations particularly from the 16th century onward cherub began to be favoured as the singular form, and from the 17th century cherubim as the plural form (influenced by Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím)). The English word is cognate with French chérubin, Italian cherubino, Old Spanish cherubin (modern Spanish querubín), Galician querubín, Portuguese querubim.
Across languages
Translations
101 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Aghwan:
𐕣𐕙𐕒𐔱𐔰
(kroba)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Albanian:
kerubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Arabic:
كَارُوبِيم
(kārūbīm)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Arabic:
شِيرُوبِيم
(šīrūbīm)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Armenian:
քերովբե
(kʻerovbe)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Asturian:
querube
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Asturian:
querubín
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Belarusian:
херуві́м
(xjeruvím)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Bulgarian:
херуви́м
(heruvím)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Catalan:
querubí
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Cherokee:
ᎠᎩᎷᏫ
(agiluwi)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Cantonese:
智天使
(zi3 tin1 si3)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Cantonese:
基路伯
(gei1 lou6 baak3)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Cantonese:
革魯賓 /革鲁宾
(gaak3 lou5 ban1)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Cantonese:
赫魯賓 /赫鲁宾
(haak1 lou5 ban1)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese:
基路冰
(ki-lō͘-peng)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Mandarin:
智天使
(zhìtiānshǐ)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Mandarin:
基路伯
(jīlùbó)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Mandarin:
革魯賓 /革鲁宾
(gélǔbīn)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Chinese Mandarin:
赫魯賓 /赫鲁宾
(hèlǔbīn)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Czech:
cherubín
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Danish:
kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Dutch:
cherub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Esperanto:
kerubo
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Estonian:
keerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Faroese:
kerúbur
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Finnish:
kerubi
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
French:
chérubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Galician:
querubín
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Georgian:
ქერუბიმი
(kerubimi)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
German:
Cherub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
German:
Kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Greek:
χερουβείμ
(cherouveím)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Greek:
χερουβίμ
(cherouvím)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Ancient Greek:
χερούβ
(kheroúb)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Ancient Greek:
χερουβείν
(kheroubeín)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Hebrew:
כְּרוּב
(kerúv)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Hindi:
करूब
(karūb)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Hungarian:
kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Icelandic:
kerúb (kerúbím)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Ido:
kerubo
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Indonesian:
kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Interlingua:
cherub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Interlingua:
cherubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Italian:
cherubino
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Japanese:
智天使
(chitenshi)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Korean:
지천사
(jicheonsa)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Latin:
cherūb
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Latvian:
ķerubs
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Lithuanian:
cherubinas
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Macedonian:
херувим
(heruvim)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Malay:
kerubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Malay:
kerubian
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Malay:
kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Norwegian Bokmål:
kjerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kjerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Occitan:
querubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Church Slavic:
херовимъ
(xerovimŭ)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Old East Slavic:
хероувимъ
(xeruvimŭ)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Iranian Persian:
کَرّوبی
(karrubi)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Polish:
cherub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Polish:
cherubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Portuguese:
querubim
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Romanian:
heruvim
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Russian:
херуви́м
(xeruvím)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Serbo-Croatian:
херу̀вӣм
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Serbo-Croatian:
керу̀бӣн
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Serbo-Croatian:
herùvīm
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Serbo-Croatian:
kerùbīn
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Slovak:
cherubín
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Slovene:
kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Spanish:
querubín
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Spanish:
querube
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Spanish:
querub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Swahili:
kerubi
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Swedish:
kerub
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Tagalog:
kerubin
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Thai:
เครูบ
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Turkish:
keruv
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Turkish:
büyük melek
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Ukrainian:
херуви́м
(xeruvým)
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Uzbek:
xeruvim
— (biblical) winged creature attending on God
Catalan:
querubí
— artistic depiction of such a being
Finnish:
kerubi
— artistic depiction of such a being
French:
chérubin
— artistic depiction of such a being
Galician:
querubín
— artistic depiction of such a being
Hungarian:
kerub
— artistic depiction of such a being
Macedonian:
херувим
(heruvim)
— artistic depiction of such a being
Portuguese:
querubim
— artistic depiction of such a being
Russian:
херуви́м
(xeruvím)
— artistic depiction of such a being
Ukrainian:
херуви́м
(xeruvým)
— artistic depiction of such a being
Czech:
andílek
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Finnish:
enkeli
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
French:
chérubin
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Macedonian:
ангелче
(angelče)
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Polish:
cherub
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Polish:
cherubin
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Portuguese:
anjo
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Portuguese:
anjinho
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Russian:
ангело́к
(angelók)
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
Russian:
ангело́чек
(angelóček)
— person seen as being particularly angelic or innocent
