aegis

or e·gis

[ ee-jis ]

/ ˈi dʒɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aegis ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Classical Mythology. the shield or breastplate of Zeus or Athena, bearing at its center the head of the Gorgon.

protection; support: under the imperial aegis.

sponsorship; auspices: a debate under the aegis of the League of Women Voters.

Nearby words

Origin of aegis

1695–1705; < Latin < Greek aigís shield of Zeus or Athena, probably from aig- (stem of aíx goat) + -is noun suffix, from a type of shield made of goatskin

SYNONYMS FOR aegis

3. patronage.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aegis ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aegis

Not every advice giver works under the aegis of an organization.
Sex, Suicide, and Homework: The Secret World of the Telephone Hotline|Tim Teeman|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Greenwald did come here under the aegis of [Dotcom],” says John Armstrong, political columnist for The New Zealand Herald.
Greenwald, Assange, and Snowden Join Forces with Kim Dotcom in New Zealand Election|Lennox Samuels|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The biggest naval export program is the Aegis fire control system.
Why the World’s Armies Don’t Want U.S. Tech Anymore|Bill Sweetman|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tokyo also sent one of its Aegis destroyers to the Sea of Japan on April 3.
Japan Prepares to Shoot North Korean Missiles Out of the Sky|Angela Erika Kubo, Jake Adelstein|April 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Under the aegis of the World Trade Organization, companies could feel secure that they could sell their goods all over the globe.
The New Co-op Capitalism|Noreena Hertz|February 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The shadow rose and climbed up the Acropolis, on which the shield of Pallas still gleamed as the aegis of the city.
Historical Miniatures|August Strindberg
Further, great mystery shrouds the particulars of their overthrow when the aegis of the Roman authority was withdrawn.
The Towns of Roman Britain|James Oliver Bevan
On the other hand, the better Athenians throw their aegis over the better class in the allied cities.
The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians|Xenophon
Religious freedom has thriven under the aegis of Progress; monasticism can make no appeal to it.
The Idea of Progress|J. B. Bury
Monasticism, for instance, throve under its aegis, while liberty of conscience had no chance.
The Idea of Progress|J. B. Bury

British Dictionary definitions for aegis

aegis

sometimes US egis

/ (ˈiːdʒɪs) /

noun

sponsorship or protection; auspices (esp in the phrase under the aegis of)

Greek myth the shield of Zeus, often represented in art as a goatskin

Word Origin for aegis

C18: from Latin, from Greek aigis shield of Zeus, perhaps related to aig-, stem of aix goat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aegis

aegis

"protection," 1793, from Latin aegis, from Greek Aigis, the name of the shield of Zeus, said by Herodotus to be related to aix (genitive aigos) "goat," from PIE *aig- "goat" (cf. Sanskrit ajah, Lithuanian ozys "he-goat"), as the shield was of goatskin. Athene's aigis was a short goat-skin cloak, covered with scales, set with a gorgon's head, and fringed with snakes. The exact use and purpose of it is not now clear.

The goatskin would be worn with the two forelegs tied in front of the wearer's breast, or possibly with the head passed through an opening made at the neck, by the removal of the animal's head. [F. Warre Cornish, ed., "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities," London, 1898]