Politics & SocietyGreek → English
Panoply
/ˈpænəpli/noun
A complete and impressive array of things.
The Greek roots
πᾶν
pân
all, whole
ὅπλα
hópla
arms, armour
Literally: “full armour”
The story of the word
Πανοπλία was the hoplite's full kit: shield, helmet, breastplate, greaves, spear and sword, with nothing missing. Ephesians 6 tells readers to put on the whole armour of God, πανοπλία in the Greek, and that verse carried the word into English devotional prose. The modern panoply of options keeps the completeness and quietly loses the bronze.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
hoplitepanoramapandemicpanacea
In a sentence
The state funeral came with the full panoply of horses, gun carriage and massed bands.