aegis

or e·gis

[ee-jis]

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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.

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

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3. patronage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for aegis

patronage, sponsorship, auspices, backing, shelter, wing

Examples from the Web for aegis

Contemporary Examples of 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
“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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of aegis

Will she refuse to protect with her aegis the most humble of her adorers?
Memoirs of the Comtesse du Barry
Etienne Leon Lamothe-Langon
So now he felt secure, under the aegis of the Press, and the wing of the "Gosshawk."
Put Yourself in His Place
Charles Reade
She is to have her piano and he is to write a book under her aegis.
Tante
Anne Douglas Sedgwick
But he knew not at all the intent of Zeus who holds the aegis.
Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica
Homer and Hesiod
All national and local elections since 1945 have been held under the aegis of the Democratic Front.
Area Handbook for Albania
Eugene K. Keefe

British Dictionary definitions for aegis

aegis

sometimes US egis

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

"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]