cherub: [OE] Cherub is of Akkadian origin (Akkad was the northern region of ancient Babylonia). Akkadian karūbu meant ‘gracious’. This was borrowed into Hebrew as kerūbh (plural kerūbhīm), which was used in the Old Testament to signify a certain class of winged divine being. It passed into English via Greek kheroúb and Latin cherūb. [cherub etymology, cherub origin, 英语词源]