Word of the Day

: September 21, 2018

panoply

noun PAN-uh-plee

What It Means

1 a : a full suit of armor

b : ceremonial attire

2 : something forming a protective covering

3 a : a magnificent or impressive array

b : a display of all appropriate appurtenances

panoply in Context

"Like many of the islands of the Caribbean, Jamaica is home to a cuisine that combines a heady mixture of flavors, spices, techniques and influences from the panoply of cultures that have inhabited its shores." — Maria Sonnenberg, Florida Today, 11 July 2018

"'Autumn in Venice: Ernest Hemingway and His Last Muse' focuses on the final turbulent decade of a life, but Andrea di Robilant captures the full panoply of quirks and conflicts that often made Papa and those closest to him miserable." — Michael Mewshaw, The Washington Post, 26 July 2018

Did You Know?

Panoply comes from the Greek word panoplia, which referred to the full suit of armor worn by hoplites, heavily armed infantry soldiers of ancient Greece. Panoplia is a blend of the prefix pan-, meaning "all," and hopla, meaning "arms" or "armor." (As you may have guessed already, hopla is also an ancestor of hoplite.) Panoply entered the English language in the 17th century, and since then it has developed other senses which extend both the "armor" and the "full set" aspects of its original use.