angel baby
- noun
- /ˈeɪn.dʒəl ˈbeɪ.bi/
:
angelito
- We lost our precious angel baby last year.
Examples
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At the memorial, friends placed flowers beside a tiny photograph of their angel baby.
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Each year they light a candle on the day they lost their angel baby.
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She kept a small blanket that once wrapped her angel baby on the shelf.
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The couple named their angel baby Mia.
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At the memorial service, friends shared stories and placed flowers beside a tiny photograph of their angel baby.
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Each year, they light a candle to honor their angel baby on the anniversary of the loss.
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She held the small blanket that once wrapped her angel baby close to her heart.
Synonyms
411
1.0
A very young child usually under one year who is not yet walking or talking
28
2.7
A child who behaves well and is much loved
A baby born with no signs of life
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The words 'angel' (spiritual, pure) + 'baby' (infant) give a clear associative clue that the phrase refers to a heavenly or very pure infant; learners can infer a non-literal, consoling sense. However the specific meaning 'a baby who has died' is culturally marked and ambiguous (could also mean an adorable or saintly baby), so the death-related sense is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Angel baby may come from a comforting idea that a lost baby becomes an angel in heaven watching over the family. That's why people call a baby who has died an angel baby to show love and comfort and to mean 'a baby who has died'.