guardian angel

English

WOTD – 3 June 2012

A postcard depicting a guardian angel

Etymology

guardian + angel

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

guardian angel (plural guardian angels)

1. (religion) A tutelary angel watching over a particular person in monotheistic contexts.
   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     "We may call them 'guardian angels' as the Catholics do, or 'guides' or 'controls', but whatever you call them, they really do exist and they guard us from evil on the spiritual plane."

2. (figuratively) A person who benevolently watches over another.
   • 1980 August 2, Andrea F. Loewenstein, “Random Lust”, in Gay Community News, page 15:

     I don't know when you appointed yourself my guardian angel, but I can take care of my own self, thank you very much!

Hypernyms

• (tutelary spirit): angel; see also Thesaurus:spirit
• (protector): caretaker, tutelary

Derived terms

• don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

Translations

spirit

• Afrikaans: beskermengel
• Arabic: مَلَاك حَارِس m (malāk ḥāris)
• Armenian: պահապան հրեշտակ (hy) (pahapan hreštak)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 守護天使／守护天使 (shǒuhù tiānshǐ)

• Crimean Tatar: qoruyıcı melek
• Czech: anděl strážný, anděl strážce
• Danish: skytsengel
• Dutch: beschermengel (nl) m, engelbewaarder (nl) m
• Esperanto: gardanĝelo
• Estonian: kaitseingel (et)
• Faroese: verndareingil m
• Finnish: suojelusenkeli (fi)
• French: ange gardien (fr) m
• German: Schutzengel (de) m
• Greek: φυλακάγγελος m (fylakángelos)
• Gujarati: પાલક દેવદૂત (pālak devdūt)
• Hungarian: őrangyal (hu)
• Irish: aingeal coimhdeachta m
• Italian: angelo custode m
• Japanese: 守護天使 (しゅごてんし, shugotenshi)
• Korean: 수호천사 (ko) (suhocheonsa)
• Latin: angelus custōs m
• Maori: anahera kaitiaki
• Navajo: diyin naalʼaʼí naa áhályánígíí
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skytsengel m

  Nynorsk: skytsengel m

• Oromo: ergamaa ayyaanaa m
• Persian: فرشتهٔ نگهبان (ferešte-ye negahbân)
• Plautdietsch: Schutzenjel m
• Polish: Anioł Stróż (pl) m
• Portuguese: anjo da guarda m
• Romanian: înger păzitor (ro)
• Russian: а́нгел-храни́тель (ru) m (ángel-xranítelʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: анђео чувар m

  Roman: anđeo čuvar m

• Slovak: anjel strážny
• Spanish: ángel protector m, ángel de la guarda (es) m
• Swedish: skyddsängel (sv) c, änglavakt (sv) c (protection by a guardian angel in a dangerous situation)
• Tagalog: anghel na bantay, hilagyo
• Tamil: காவல் தேவதை (ta) (kāval tēvatai)
• Turkish: koruyucu melek
• Uyghur: قوغدىغۇچى پەرىشتە (qoghdighuchi perishte)
• Vietnamese: thiên thần hộ mệnh.

person

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 守護天使／守护天使 (shǒuhù tiānshǐ)

• Finnish: suojelija (fi)
• French: ange gardien (fr) m
• Hungarian: őrangyal (hu)
• Polish: anioł stróż (pl) m
• Portuguese: anjo da guarda m
• Slovak: anjel strážny

See also

• daimon, genius, genius hominis, tutelary deity (similar concepts in polytheistic contexts)