1570s, "complete suit of armor," 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 Ephesians vi); non-armorial sense of "any splendid array" is by 1829. Related: Panoplied.