What is "cherub"

Cherub \Cher"ub\, n.; pl. Cherubs; but the Hebrew plural Cherubimis also used. [Heb. ker[=u]b.]

1. A mysterious composite being, the winged footstool and chariot of the Almighty, described in
   --Ezekiel i. and x.

   I knew that they were the cherubim.
   --Ezek. x. 20.

   He rode upon a cherub and did fly.
   --Ps. xviii. 10.

2. A symbolical winged figure of unknown form used in connection with the mercy seat of the Jewish Ark and Temple.
   --Ez. xxv. 18.

3. One of a order of angels, variously represented in art. In European painting the cherubim have been shown as blue, to denote knowledge, as distinguished from the seraphim (see Seraph), and in later art the children's heads with wings are generally called cherubs.

4. A beautiful child; -- so called because artists have represented cherubs as beautiful children.

late 14c. as an order of angels, from Late Latin cherub, from Greek cheroub, from Hebrew kerubh (plural kerubhim) "winged angel," perhaps related to Akkadian karubu "to bless," karibu "one who blesses," an epithet of the bull-colossus. Old English had cerubin, from the Greek plural.\n\nThe cherubim, a common feature of ancient Near Eastern mythology, are not to be confused with the round-cheeked darlings of Renaissance iconography. The root of the terms either means "hybrid" or, by an inversion of consonants, "mount," "steed," and they are winged beasts, probably of awesome aspect, on which the sky god of the old Canaanite myths and of the poetry of Psalms goes riding through the air.

[Robert Alter, "The Five Books of Moses," 2004, commentary on Gen. iii:24]

n. 1 A winged creature represented over 90 times in the Bible as attending on God, later seen as the second highest order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim. First mention is in 2 A statue or other depiction of such a being, typically in the form of a winged child. 3 (context figuratively English) A person, especially a child, seen as being particularly innocent or angelic.

1. n. a sweet innocent baby

2. an angel of the second order whose gift is knowledge; usually portrayed as a winged child

3. [also: cherubim (pl)]

CHERUB is a series of young adult spy novels, written by the English author Robert Muchamore, focusing around a division of the British Security Service called CHERUB, which employs children, predominantly orphans, under the age of 17, as intelligence agents.

Initially, the series follows James Choke, better known as James Adams (his adopted name at CHERUB), as he enters CHERUB and performs various missions. However, the focus later expands to other characters, such as James' sister Lauren and several other characters who work alongside him and in separate missions. The initial series of twelve novels runs from the recruitment of Adams to his retirement from CHERUB at age seventeen. The second series of five novels, Aramov, follows Ryan Sharma, another CHERUB agent; James Adams is re-introduced into the series as a CHERUB staff member.

Muchamore also wrote a seven-part series called Henderson's Boys, which takes place during World War II and explains how CHERUB was created, following the path of a twelve-year-old French orphan who meets Charles Henderson and shows him how much help children can be to win the war. Henderson, following this, creates a small unit of children to be trained in espionage.

The series has achieved great critical success. Christopher Middleton of The Times called the series "convincing" and praised the way it allows readers to "grow up with the characters." After release in the United Kingdom, the novels have been released in the US, New Zealand, and Australia, and translated into several languages including French, Danish, Spanish, Russian, Czech, Norwegian and Portuguese. On his website, Muchamore states that over 8 million copies have now been sold. A film adaptation was hinted at in 2009, but no further information was ever given.

Cherub, stylized as CHERUB, is an electro-indie duo from Nashville, Tennessee formed in 2010 consisting of Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber. They are currently signed to Columbia Records.

The Cherub is a 12 feet long, high performance, two-man Planing dinghy first designed in 1951 in New Zealand by John Spencer (d 1994). The class is a development (or "box rule") class, allowing for significant variation in design between different boats within the rule framework. The minimum hull weight was originally 110 lbs.

The Cherub is Bermuda-rigged with trapeze(s), and has a crew of two. The Cherub has been through a number of changes. In the 1950s the designs had considerable keel rocker. The most popular design from this era was Spencer's Mk7 built in plywood but by 1971 most successful designs had much less rocker and flatter sections aft to promote planning. Considerable care was needed to achieve the 110lbs hull weight. In 1970 the small jib was enlarged to an overlapping genoa about 8 square feet bigger. By the late 1960s new boats were being built with aluminium masts which were lighter and stiffer. Up to 1980 boats were generally built from 3 and 4 mm plywood but after this some were made from foam sandwich construction pioneered by Russell Bowler in New Zealand. Some Cherubs did dual service in New Zealand sailing in the Q class (unrestricted 12ft). The Cherub hull was used with a short bowsprit,a taller mast and much larger sail area with both the crew and skipper using trapezes.

Current Cherubs use an asymmetric spinnaker system but earlier boats used relatively large double luff spinnakers and used a notably long (9 foot) spinnaker pole. Cherubs have a high power-to-weight ratio and are very quick downwind in stronger breezes but can be slow upwind in lighter airs compared to longer boats. The Cherub has a RYA Portsmouth number of 930.

Many Cherub sailors are in their late teens or early twenties but the flexibility of the class and the Cherub’s great sailing qualities mean that they are also attractive to many older sailors. Many women sail Cherubs, both as skippers and as crews. Husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister and parent/child combinations of crew are common.In the 1960s and 1970s the Cherub was a popular sailing dinghy in New Zealand when they were mainly amateur built. Cherubs are nowadays mainly sailed in Australia and the UK, with some boats in other countries, notably France and small numbers in New Zealand.

The class differs in detail specification between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Northern boats use a second trapeze and permit appreciably larger sails then the Southern Hemisphere boats.

A cherub is a supernatural being in the Bible. For the word commonly used for winged babies in artwork, see putto.

Cherub or Cherubs may also refer to:

• " Cherub Rock," a song by the Smashing Pumpkins from their 1993 album Siamese Dream
• Charleroi Cherubs, a basketball team in Pennsylvania, USA
• Cherubs (UK band)
• Cherubs (US band)

• , a British navy ship

• Cherub (dinghy), a class of dinghy
• CHERUBS, the Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support in the USA
• CHERUB, a series of spy novels by Robert Muchamore
• Bristol Cherub, an aircraft engine
• Cherub (musical duo)
• Cherubim (Wrinkle in Time Character)