to take one under your wing
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To patronize and protect. The allusion is to a hen gathering her chicks under her wing.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to take one under your wing” mean?
To patronize and protect. The allusion is to a hen gathering her chicks under her wing.
Is “to take one under your wing” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.