panoply

[pan-uh-plee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR panoply ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural pan·o·plies.

a wide-ranging and impressive array or display: the dazzling panoply of the maharaja's procession; the panoply of European history.

a complete suit of armor.

a protective covering.

full ceremonial attire or paraphernalia; special dress and equipment.

Origin of panoply

1570–80; < Greek panoplía full complement of arms and armor, equivalent to pan- pan- + (h)ópl(a) arms, armor (cf. hoplite) + -ia -ia

Related formspan·o·plied, adjectiveun·pan·o·plied, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for panoply

array, exhibit, fanfare, parade, show, splash, dash, pretension, spectacle, affectation, demonstration, frippery, layout, exposure, panorama, arrangement, spread, exposition, exhibition, scheme

Examples from the Web for panoply

Contemporary Examples of panoply

While a panoply of other circuses operated, these grew even larger.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014
Just as at the weekend, a panoply of emergency personnel descended on the scene in October.
Casey Kasem's Family's Top 40 Meltdown Moments
Tim Teeman
June 3, 2014
“Destination,” meanwhile, presents a panoply of nightlife hotspots, serene beaches, and luscious vineyards.
South African Style and Substance
Paul Laster
June 28, 2010

Historical Examples of panoply

There is no panoply like that which love provides, and she who bears it has the whole armour of God.
St. Cuthbert's
Robert E. Knowles
We reach here the last and only offensive weapon in the panoply.
Expositions of Holy Scripture
Alexander Maclaren
The pavilion of God is the saint's place of rest; the panoply of God is his coat of mail.
George Muller of Bristol
Arthur T. Pierson
And, amid that panoply of long-ago, she recognised Séverac Bablon.
The Sins of Sverac Bablon
Sax Rohmer
He was a savage, in the war-paint and panoply of a Blackfoot brave.
The Prairie Chief
R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for panoply

panoply

noun plural -plies

a complete or magnificent array

the entire equipment of a warrior

Derived Formspanoplied, adjective

Word Origin for panoply

C17: via French from Greek panoplia complete armour, from pan- + hopla armour, pl of hoplon tool

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for panoply

1570s, from Greek panoplia "complete suit of armor," from pan- "all" (see pan-) + hopla (plural), "arms" of a hoplites ("heavily armed soldier"); see hoplite. Originally in English figurative, of "spiritual armor," etc. (a reference to Eph. vi); non-armorial sense of "any splendid array" first recorded 1829.