αἰγίς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The original sense was probably "goatskin", in which case, the term is most likely from αἴξ (aíx, “goat”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, “nominal suffix”), with formation similar to that of νεβρίς (nebrís, “fawnskin”) from νεβρός (nebrós, “fawn”). From this sense developed the "goatskin shield" > "mantle of Zeus and Athena" senses, whose shaking frightens gods and men in traditional mythology.

The "storm wind" sense appears to have developed or otherwise be influenced by the derived verb ἐπαιγίζω (epaigízō, “to rush furiously upon”), i.e. "rushing upon (with a shield or shaking mantle)" > "a rushing wind". The "kernel, speck" senses would thus seem to be from the "storm" sense, as "eyes of a storm", though this appears to be unmentioned in etymological dictionaries.

Other theories of the term's origin include derivation from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyg- (“to stir, set in motion”), via an unattested verb *αἴγω (*aígō), and subsequent connection to Sanskrit एजति (éjati, “to tremble, shake”), as well as tentative links to αἴγλη (aíglē, “gleam, radiance”). There exists a possibility of a folk-etymological conflation and merging of these senses within Hellenic, if the above theories are all correct. Has also been connected to ἀΐσσω (aḯssō, “to move violently”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ai̯.ɡís/ → /ɛˈʝis/ → /eˈʝis/

• (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 • (aigĭ́s) f (genitive αἰγῐ́δος); third declension

1. (Greek mythology) the aegis; a shield of Zeus or cloak of Athena
   • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.738
   • 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Eumenides 404
   • 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 4.189
   1. a goat-skin coat
      • 480 BCE – 406 BCE, Euripides, Cyclops 360
2. a rushing storm, hurricane
   • 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 592
3. a yellow kernel in the pith of the pine
   • 371 BCE – 287 BCE, Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 3.9.3
4. a speck in the eye
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, The Coan Praenotions 214

Declension

Third declension of ἡ αἰγῐ́ς; τῆς αἰγῐ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ αἰγῐ́ς hē aigĭ́s	τὼ αἰγῐ́δε tṑ aigĭ́de	αἱ αἰγῐ́δες hai aigĭ́des
Genitive	τῆς αἰγῐ́δος tês aigĭ́dos	τοῖν αἰγῐ́δοιν toîn aigĭ́doin	τῶν αἰγῐ́δων tôn aigĭ́dōn
Dative	τῇ αἰγῐ́δῐ tēî aigĭ́dĭ	τοῖν αἰγῐ́δοιν toîn aigĭ́doin	ταῖς αἰγῐ́σῐ / αἰγῐ́σῐν taîs aigĭ́sĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν αἰγῐ́δᾰ tḕn aigĭ́dă	τὼ αἰγῐ́δε tṑ aigĭ́de	τᾱ̀ς αἰγῐ́δᾰς tā̀s aigĭ́dăs
Vocative	αἰγῐ́ aigĭ́	αἰγῐ́δε aigĭ́de	αἰγῐ́δες aigĭ́des
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 *-δς (*-ds).

Derived terms

• αἰγίζω (aigízō)
• αἰγίοχος (aigíokhos)
• ἐπαιγίζω (epaigízō)
• καταιγίζω (kataigízō)
• κᾰταιγῐ́ς (kătaigĭ́s)

Descendants

• Greek: αιγίδα f (aigída)
• Latin: aegis
  • Catalan: ègida
  • English: aegis
  • French: égide
  • → German: Ägis, → Ägide
    • → Ukrainian: егі́да (ehída)
  • Italian: egida
  • → Polish: egida
  • Portuguese: égide
  • Romanian: egidă
  • Russian: эги́да (egída)
  • Sicilian: èggida
  • Spanish: égida

Further reading

• “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 (2006–2026)
• “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
• αἰγίς, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011