One picture can hold this word: a figure that stands beside something precious and does not leave. In the oldest texts that figure is — several faces, many eyes, wings on wings, posted at a throne or a gate. Centuries of painters kept the wings and everything else, until the guard had become a child floating on a cloud. Once that gentle version was familiar, adults began lending it to real children who look sweet and sit still. Same word, three distances from the original .
Wiktionary traces cherub from Middle English cherub/cherubin, through Old English cerubin and Latin cherūbīm, from Ancient Greek kheroubím, from Hebrew k'ruvím. The same source notes that later texts changed the figure into a winged baby, which is the route from the guardian to the art cherub.
cherub 從希伯來文 כְּרוּבִים 經古希臘文、拉丁文、古英文、中古英文一路進到現代英文。同一份資料也記下：在後來的文本裡，這個形象被改成長翅膀的嬰兒。這正好說明守衛怎麼變成畫裡的小天使。
Wiktionary entry 'cherub' (noun), source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:324757727:41554, supplied verbatim in the evidence packet
Two branches
守在神座旁的天使
這一支就是原始的畫面本身，沒有被畫家改過。守衛、位置、不離開，三件事都還在。
noun · C2
In the Bible, one of the winged beings that stay beside God and guard the place where he sits. Old descriptions give them several faces, many eyes and more than one pair of wings.
基路伯（守護神座的天使）
畫成小孩的天使，以及像小天使的小孩
這一支是被畫家改過的樣子。翅膀留著，威嚴拿掉，身體換成小孩。從那之後，cherub 的畫面就以「可愛」為主，也才可能拿來誇真的小朋友。
noun · C1
An angel as artists draw or carve it: a small fat child with a round face and a pair of little wings, usually looking sweet and calm.
小天使（藝術中的）