aggelos

Aggelos, written in Greek as ἄγγελος and transliterated as aggelos, is a word meaning “messenger.” In classical Greek, an aggelos was simply someone who bears and delivers a message, whether a human courier or a divine messenger. The related verb aggellein means to announce or bring news. From this root, the noun aggelos came to signify the person who carries a message.

In religious contexts, especially within Judaism and Christianity, aggelos is used to translate the English word “angel.” In the New Testament Greek, aggelos refers to beings who act as messengers of God, deliver messages, or carry out divine missions. Over time, Christian theology developed a more specific sense of angels as spiritual beings with various orders and roles, including archangels, cherubim, and seraphim. In Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and many Protestant traditions, angels are understood as real, non-corporeal beings who serve God and interact with humans in biblical narratives.

Modern usage in Greek retains the core sense: άγγελος means an angel, a messenger, or a bearer of news. The word also appears in related forms, such as αγγελία, meaning a notice or advertisement, reflecting the broader sense of delivering information. The term has influenced English through Latin and Greek, yielding the familiar word “angel.” See also: angel, archangel, and related angelic hierarchies.