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Aegis Has Greek and Latin Roots
English borrowed aegis from Latin, but the word ultimately comes from the Greek noun aigís, meaning “goatskin.” In ancient Greek mythology, an aegis was something that offered physical protection. It has been depicted in various ways, including as a magical protective cloak made from the skin of the goat that suckled Zeus as an infant, and as a shield fashioned by Hephaestus that bore the severed head of the Gorgon Medusa. The word first entered English in the 15th century as a noun referring to the shield or breastplate associated with Zeus or Athena. It later took on a more general sense of “protection” and, by the late-19th century, it had acquired the extended senses of “auspices” and “sponsorship.”
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Examples of aegis in a Sentence
Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
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The sprawling, stately West Chelsea space that used to be Al Coro, and before that Del Posto, was recently reborn, yet again—this time, under the night-clubby aegis of the Tao Group, who’ve turned it into a steak house.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
Watch on Deadline The roster has taken shape under the aegis of Helen Estabrook, Global Head of Film & Television, and Sarah Amos, VP, Development and Production (Non-Fiction TV, Documentaries).
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 25 Oct. 2024
Built between 1163 and 1345, the Catholic cathedral had been desecrated once before, in 1789 during the French Revolution, and restored in the 19th century under the aegis of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 9 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Aegis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aegis. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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aegis
noun
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