1. A high-ranking angel.
2. archangels The eighth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

[Middle English, from Old French archangele, from Late Latin archangelus, from Late Greek arkhangelos : Greek arkh-, archi- + Greek angelos, angel.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.