Word: Aegis

The Word of the Day for Mar 01 is:
aegis \EE-jiss\ noun

1 : shield, protection
*2 : patronage, sponsorship


Example sentence:
The county fair is being run under the aegis of the business council, so we can expect to see its members' logos featured prominently throughout the fairgrounds.

Did you know?

We borrowed "aegis" from Latin, but the word derives ultimately from the Greek noun "aigis," which means "goatskin." In ancient Greek mythology, an aegis was something that offered physical protection. In some stories, it was the thundercloud where Zeus kept the thunderbolts he used as weapons. In others, the aegis was a magical protective cloak made from the skin of the goat that had suckled Zeus as an infant. The word first entered English in the 16th century as a noun meaning "shield" or "protection," but by the 20th century it had acquired the extended senses of "auspices" or "sponsorship."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Under the aegis of MTV, the Superbowl half-time show has become a a lightening rod for myriad conservative causes in their quest for censorship.

Comments

[Cyn]

Nice, Rose! :)

[Rose]

Higher Power is my aegis.

[lakkris]

:)

I always wondered why the military had chosen aegis for a class of warships.