αἰγίς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Either from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyg- (“to stir, set in motion”) or from αἴξ (aíx, “goat”), as in a goat-skin shield. Has also been connected to ἀΐσσω (aḯssō, “to move violently”) and Sanskrit एजति (éjati, “to tremble, shake”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ai̯.ɡís/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɛˈɡis/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɛˈʝis/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈʝis/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈʝis/

Noun

αἰγῐ́ς • (aigís) f (genitive αἰγῐ́δος); third declension

the aegis; a shield of Zeus or cloak of Athena
- Homer, Iliad 5.738
- Aeschylus, The Eumenides 404
- Herodotus, Histories 4.189
1. a goat-skin coat
  - Euripides, Cyclops 360
a rushing storm, hurricane
- Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 592
a yellow kernel in the pith of the pine
- Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 3.9.3
a speck in the eye
- Hippocrates, The Coan Praenotions 153

Declension

Third declension of ἡ αἰγῐ́ς; τῆς αἰγῐ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ αἰγῐ́ς hē aigís	τὼ αἰγῐ́δε tṑ aigíde	αἱ αἰγῐ́δες hai aigídes
Genitive	τῆς αἰγῐ́δος tês aigídos	τοῖν αἰγῐ́δοιν toîn aigídoin	τῶν αἰγῐ́δων tôn aigídōn
Dative	τῇ αἰγῐ́δῐ têi aigídi	τοῖν αἰγῐ́δοιν toîn aigídoin	ταῖς αἰγῐ́σῐ / αἰγῐ́σῐν taîs aigísi(n)
Accusative	τὴν αἰγῐ́δᾰ tḕn aigída	τὼ αἰγῐ́δε tṑ aigíde	τᾱ̀ς αἰγῐ́δᾰς tā̀s aigídas
Vocative	αἰγῐ́ς aigís	αἰγῐ́δε aigíde	αἰγῐ́δες aigídes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Derived terms

αἰγίοχος (aigíokhos)
κᾰταιγῐ́ς (kataigís)

Descendants

Greek: αιγίδα f (aigída)
Latin: aegis

References

“αἰγίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“αἰγίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“αἰγίς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
αἰγίς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
αἰγίς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
αἰγίς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2023)
“αἰγίς”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
αἰγίς in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN