What does cherubic mean?
Cherubic is an adjective used to describe someone — usually a baby or young child — whose round, rosy-cheeked face and innocent expression evoke the cherubs of religious art. It carries warm, affectionate connotations: to call a child's smile cherubic is to suggest sweetness, purity, and an almost angelic charm. The word comes from 'cherub', which entered English through Latin and Greek from the Hebrew 'keruv'. In original Hebrew scripture, however, the cherubim were anything but cuddly — they were powerful winged guardian beings, most famously posted at the entrance to the Garden of Eden. Over centuries, especially through Renaissance painting, their image softened into the chubby, winged infants we now picture, and by the seventeenth century 'cherubic' had taken on its familiar sense. Today the word appears most naturally in descriptions of children's faces and expressions, as well as in discussions of religious art, where cherubic figures symbolize innocence and divine love.
Having the sweet, innocent, angelic appearance traditionally associated with cherubs; typically describing a child's round, rosy face or gentle expression.
"She couldn't resist pinching his cherubic cheek."
Almost always used approvingly or tenderly.
Of or relating to the cherubim, the second-highest order of angels in Christian angelology.
"The cathedral ceiling was painted with cherubic figures amid clouds of gold."
This sense occurs mainly in theological and art-historical writing.
Before it meant 'sweet-faced baby', a cherub was one of the fiercest guardians in Hebrew scripture — the winged creatures who guarded Eden with a flaming sword.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cherubic
Cherubic derives from 'cherub', which English borrowed via Latin 'cherub' and Greek 'cheroub' from the Hebrew 'keruv', denoting a class of angelic beings. The adjective formed with the suffix '-ic' appeared in English around the early 17th century, initially in religious contexts describing the cherubim themselves before shifting toward its modern sense of 'angel-faced'. Related forms include the noun 'cherub' and the Hebrew-style plural 'cherubim'.
Related word forms
How cherubic is actually used
'Cherubic' is almost always complimentary and affectionate, applied chiefly to babies and young children's faces. In its literal religious sense it appears mostly in theological or art-historical writing. Note that the traditional plural 'cherubim' reflects the word's Hebrew origin, though 'cherubs' is standard in everyday English.
Easily confused with cherubic
'Cherub' is the noun referring to the angelic being itself (or a sweet-faced child), while 'cherubic' is the adjective describing something that resembles such a being.