be under (one's) wing

To be protected, tutored, nurtured, or cared for by one. I was nervous starting an internship at my uncle's company, but it definitely made it easier being under his wing. Our parents died when we were quite young, so my sister and I were under our grandmother's wing for most of our lives. Countless kids have been under the social worker's wing over the years, and many of them stay in contact with him years later.

take (someone) under (one's) wing

To act as someone's guardian, protector, or mentor, especially someone who is vulnerable or in need of help, protection, or instruction. The social worker has taken countless kids under his wing over the years, and many of them stay in contact with him years later. Diane didn't know anyone when she moved out West, so I took her under my wing for a while and showed her around.

under one's wing, to be/take someone

To be protected or to protect someone. The analogy here is to a hen sheltering her chicks and was drawn as early as the thirteenth century, when it appeared in a Middle English manuscript. A little later, Stephen Hawes wrote (The Example of Virtue, 1510), “Under the wynge of my proteceyon All rebels brought be to subieccyon.”