aegis

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Discover the hidden meanings you've been missing! Check
out Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?allusion.htm&6
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The Word of the Day for March 1 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.