A panoply is a complete suit of armor. The word represents the ancient Greek πανοπλία (''panoplía''), where the word πᾶν ''pân'' means "all", and ὅπλον ''hóplon'', "arms". Thus ''panoply'' refers to the full armor of a hoplite or heavy-armed soldier, i.e. the shield, breastplate, helmet and greaves, together with the sword and lance. As applied to armor of a later date, ''panoply'' did not come into use until the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, and was then used of the complete suits of plate armor covering the whole body. Because a panoply is a complete set of diverse components, the word ''panoply'' has come to refer to any complete or impressive collection.

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* * Category:Body armor Category:Ancient Greek military equipment {{armour-stub