'angelophobia' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'angelos' and 'phobos', where 'angelos' meant 'messenger' and 'phobos' meant 'fear'.

'angelophobia' is a modern English coinage formed from Greek roots ('angelos' + 'phobos') following the pattern of other -phobia words; it does not have a long history in older English and appears as a descriptive formation in recent centuries.

Initially formed to mean 'fear of angels,' this sense has remained consistent and the word has not undergone significant semantic shift.