seraph

Meaning

1. A burning serpent, often winged, with human hands and sometimes feet; one of God's entourage. On Earth, they strike with burning poison; in Heaven, with burning coal. A description can be found at the beginning of Isaiah chapter 6.
2. A six-winged angel; one of the highest choir or order of angels in Christian angelology, ranked above cherubim, and below God. They are the 5th-highest order of angels in Jewish angelology.

Synonyms

angel

👼

seraphim

cherub

deva

divinity

god

goddess

angelo

supernatural being

miracle worker

God’s messenger

diving being

messenger of death

angels

deity

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɛɹəf/

Etymology

Back-formation of singular from plural seraphim, from Latin seraphim, from Biblical Hebrew שְׂרָפִים (sərāp̄īm), plural form of שָׂרָף (sārāp̄). The plural "seraphims" occurs in the King James Bible (Isaiah chapter 6).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the singular "seraph" may have originated with John Milton, who used it in Book I of Paradise Lost (1667).