■ noun
1》 a spiritual being believed to act as an attendant or messenger of God, conventionally represented as being of human form with wings.
2》 a person of great beauty, kindness, or virtue.
3》 informal (especially in the theatre) a financial backer.
4》 ( ~s ) informal (among pilots) used with a numeral to indicate an aircraft's altitude in thousands of feet: we rendezvous at ~s nine.
5》 informal an unexplained radar signal.
6》 a former English coin bearing the figure of the arch~ Michael killing a dragon.
Phrases
on the side of the ~s on the side of what is right.
Origin
OE engel , ult. via eccles. L. from Gk ~os 'messenger'.