A panoply is a complete suit of armour. The word represents the Gr. iravoirXtct (ir~r, all, and ~hrXa, 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.