1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Panoply

PANOPLY, a complete suit of armour. The word represents the Gr. πᾶνὅπλία. (πᾶν, all, and ὅπλα, arms), the full armour of a hoplite or heavy-armed soldier, i.e. the shield, breastplate, helmet and greaves, together with the sword and lance. As applied to armour of a later date, "panoply" did not come into use till the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, and was then used of the complete suits of plate-armour covering the whole body. The figurative use of the word is chiefly due to the phrase ἡ πανοπλία τοῦ Θεοῦ, "the whole armour of God" (Eph. vi. 11).