cherubim

See also: Cherubim

English

Etymology

From Hebrew כרֻבִים (keruvím), from כְּרוּב (kerúv) + ־ים (-im) masculine plural suffix.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛ.ɹ(j)u.bɪm/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

cherubim

1. plural of cherub

   Coordinate term: seraphim

   • 2010, Pseudonymous Bosch [pseudonym; Raphael Simon], “The Royal Kennels”, in This Isn’t What It Looks Like (The Secret Series; 4), New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN; republished London: Usborne, 2014, →ISBN:

     The kennels occupied a long brick building designed to resemble the palace in miniature. Inside, the walls were painted with murals of dogs frolicking in the woods and giving chase to a frightened fox while chubby canine cherubim smiled down at them.

Noun

cherubim (plural cherubims)

1. A cherub.
   • 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     As he looks up at the organ, Miss Tox in the gallery shrinks behind the fat leg of a cherubim on a monument, with cheeks like a young Wind, Captain Cuttle, on the contrary, stands up and waves his hook, in token of welcome and encouragement.

   • 2014, Rebecca Tourniaire, King of the Ark, page 44:

     Again, if we put the two cherubims on each side but still on the lid, the size of the Ark doesn't allow enough space for a King, […]

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʰeˈruː.biːm/, [kʰɛˈruːbiːm]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /keˈru.bim/, [keˈruːbim]

Noun

cherūbīm

1. plural of cherūb