Cherub is a noun referring to a winged angelic being, often depicted as innocent or childlike. In common usage, it can describe a person (often a baby or child) who is considered adorable or angelic. The term also appears in religious and artistic contexts to denote celestial beings, sometimes with a connotation of beauty and purity.
"The painting features a cherub with rosy cheeks and tiny wings."
"She reached out, smiling like a cherub, quick to forgive."
"The couple adopted a cherub of a baby girl who brightened their home."
"In the medieval manuscript, the cherub guards the sacred tablet.”"
Cherub traces to Old French chereub, cherub, from Latin cherub with a form cherubinus, from Greek kērub, kērubós, which itself comes from Hebrew ḳĕrûḇ (kerûḇ) meaning ‘a winged being.’ In Hebrew, kerubim are guardians or attendants of divine presence, appearing in prophetic and apocryphal texts. The term moved into Late Latin as cherubus, then Old French with phonetic adjustments, before entering English in the early modern period. Originally used strictly within religious contexts to denote a celestial, radiant being, cherub broadened in English to describe innocent-looking children or persons with a gentle, angelic demeanor. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the word was common in art and literature to evoke a sense of sweetness and purity, beyond its scriptural guardianship role. The pronunciation shifted through stress and vowel changes, with modern English using two primary pronunciations: /ˈtʃɛrəb/ in American/Broad usage and /ˈtʃɛrəb/ or /ˈtʃɛruːb/ in a few traditional contexts; cross-dialectal adaptation often reflects the second syllable’s reduced vowels in rapid speech. First known use in English appears in translations from Latin and Greek medieval texts, cementing cherub as a staple in Western religious and artistic lexicon.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Cherub" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Cherub"
-rup sounds
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Pronounce as /ˈtʃɛr.əb/ in most varieties. The first syllable has the CH sound /tʃ/ followed by an open-mid front vowel /ɛ/ (as in “bet”). The second syllable is a reduced schwa /ə/. Emphasize the first syllable. Practice with the phrase “CHE-rub” and try a quick pause before the second syllable in careful speech.
Common errors include saying a long /uː/ in the second syllable or placing stress on the second syllable as in CHER-ub; also mispronouncing the initial consonant as /tʃɹ/ or adding an extra vowel. Corrections: keep the second syllable reduced to /ə/ and maintain primary stress on the first syllable; avoid adding a vowel after the schwa, and pronounce /tʃ/ as a single cluster without extra lubrication in the mouth.
In US/UK/AU, the primary difference is subtle in vowel quality and final vowel reduction. US tends toward a slightly higher and tenser /ɛ/ in the first syllable and a clear, quick /ə/ in the second. UK may have a more centralized /ə/ with less jaw movement; AU often mirrors US with a similarly reduced second syllable but with a slightly broader vowel in the first. Overall, stress remains on the first syllable in all three.
The difficulty lies in the short, unstressed second syllable, which reduces to a soft /ə/, and the initial /tʃ/ onset that must flow smoothly into /ɛ/. Some speakers also over-articulate the second syllable or insert a vowel, making it CHER-OO-b or CHE-roo-b. Focus on keeping the second syllable relaxed and minimizing vowel length in rapid speech; practice with minimal pairs to flatten the transition.
A Cherub often appears in religious or artistic descriptions, so listeners may expect a more
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