empanoply · verb — to dress in a full suit of armour; to panoply. It carries an Arena rating of 1414, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, empanoply ranks #813 of 17,180 for Most Ingenious Words, #890 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,515 of 17,177 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,162 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say.
empanoply is pronounced /ɪmˈpænəpli/.
Why “empanoply” is a great word
To dress or equip in a full suit of armor. From the prefix em- (meaning 'in, into, on') + panoply, from Ancient Greek πᾰνοπλῐ́ᾱ (panoplíā, 'complete suit of armor'), from πάνοπλος (pánoplos, 'in full armor'), from παν- (pan-, 'all') + ὅπλον (hóplon, 'armor, weapon'); the verb is first attested in 1784, used by W. Spencer. Unlike 'armor'—which names the inert, metallic shell—or 'equip'—a blandly functional provision of gear—to empanoply is the ceremonial act of transformation. It is the slow, metallic sigh of greaves being buckled, the weight of the cuirass settling on the shoulders, and the final, resonant click of the bevor locking into place—a voluntary surrender of human suppleness to an immutable carapace.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From em- (prefix meaning ‘on, onto; covered’) + panoply (“complete set of armour”); panoply is derived from Ancient Greek πᾰνοπλῐ́ᾱ (pănoplĭ́ā, “suit of armour”), from πάνοπλος (pánoplos, “in full armour”) (from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all, every’) + ὅπλον (hóplon, “armour; arms, weapons”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns).
verb
- To dress in a full suit of armour; to panoply.e.g.“I see, I see, empanoply'd in arms, / (Rapt with prophetic fire, sage Chiron cried), / O'er Phrygian plains wide hurling war's alarms, / Thy son, O Thetis, rise, his country's pride.” — 1784, William R[obert] Spencer, “Chorus from the Iphigenia in Aulis of Euripides. Written at Harrow School, in the Year 1784.”, in Poems by the Late Hon. William R. Spencer; […], new edition, London:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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