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Sep 18, 2013
This week's theme
Words derived from goats

This week's words
tragus
chimera
aegis
chevron
chagal

Athena wearing an aegis
Athena, daughter of Zeus, wearing an aegis with the head of the Gorgon at its center
A stamp from Greece

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

aegis

PRONUNCIATION:
(EE-jis)

MEANING:
noun: Protection, support, guidance, or sponsorship of a particular person or organization.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin aegis, from Greek aigis (goatskin), from aix (goat). Aigis was the name of the shield or breastplate of Zeus or Athena in Greek mythology. It was made of goatskin. Earliest documented use: 1704.

USAGE:
"The French hope that by April an African force will have come under the UN's aegis."
The Battle Moves to the Mountains; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 9, 2013.

See more usage examples of aegis in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

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