LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

aegis

aegis f (genitive aegidos or aegidis)
Classical[ˈae̯.ɡɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈɛː.d͡ʒis]

Meaning

  1. feminineof Zeus or Jupiter
  2. feminineof Athena or Minerva
    iam galeam Pallas et aegida / currusque et rabiem parat.See! Pallas trims her aegis and her helm, her chariot and her ire.23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 1.15.11-12
    [...] Pallās, prō ducibus nostrīs aegida semper habē.… Pallas, always hold your aegis before our leaders. (‘‘Pallas’’ was an epithet for the Greek goddess Athena, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.847–848
  3. femininea shield, a defence; protection
  4. femininethe jewelry by which maidens try to conceal their ugliness
  5. feminineheartwood larch

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeaegisaegides
genitiveaegidos
aegidis		aegidum
dativeaegidīaegidibus
accusativeaegida
aegidem		aegidas
aegidēs
ablativeaegideaegidibus
vocativeaegis
aegi		aegides

aegis, ĭdis, f., = αἰγίς, ίδος.
I. The œgis.
A. The shield of Jupiter, Verg. A. 8, 354; Sil. 12, 720.—
B. The shield of Minerva, with Medusa's head, Verg. A. 8, 435: contra sonantem Palladis aegida, Hor. C. 3, 4, 57; so Ov. M. 2, 753; 6, 78 al.—Hence,
II. Transf.
A. A shield, defence.—So only Ovid of the jewelry by which maidens try to conceal their ugliness: decipit hac oculos aegide dives Amor, R. Am. 346.—
B. In the larch-tree, the wood nearest the pith, Plin. 16, 39, 73, § 187.

Origins

From the Ancient Greek αἰγῐ́ς (aigĭ́s).

Descendants
  • Catalanègida
  • Englishaegis
  • Frenchégide
  • GermanÄgis
  • GermanÄgide
  • Italianegida
  • Portugueseégide
  • Romanianegidă
  • Spanishégida
  • Ukrainianегі́даfrom German Ägide

In English words that came into English from aegis

  • aegisaegis

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesAegisAegis (αἰγίς), the shield of Zeus. The origin of the word appears to have been confused by the ancients themselves; in the Homeric sense it is probabl…

Quick answers

What does aegis mean in Latin?
aegis, a noun, means “a shield, a defence; protection; heartwood larch”.
What is the genitive of aegis?
The genitive singular is aegidos. aegis is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce aegis?
In classical Latin, [ˈae̯.ɡɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɛː.d͡ʒis].