What is "armour"

Armor \Ar"mor\, n. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.] [Spelt also armour.]

1. Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle.

   Note: In English statues, armor is used for the whole apparatus of war, including offensive as well as defensive arms. The statues of armor directed what arms every man should provide.

2. Steel or iron covering, whether of ships or forts, protecting them from the fire of artillery.

   Coat armor, the escutcheon of a person or family, with its several charges and other furniture, as mantling, crest, supporters, motto, etc.

   Submarine, a water-tight dress or covering for a diver. See under Submarine.

chiefly British English spelling of armor (q.v.); for suffix, see -or.

n. (standard spelling of armor from=British spelling from2=Canadian spelling English) vb. (standard spelling of armor from=British spelling from2=Canadian spelling English)

1. n. a military unit consisting of armored fighting vehicles [syn: armor]

2. protective covering made of metal and used in combat [syn: armor]

3. tough more-or-less rigid protective covering of an animal or plant [syn: armor]

v. equip with armor [syn: armor]

Armour (spelled armor in the US) is a protective covering that is used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual, or vehicle by direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action (e.g., cycling, construction sites, etc.). Personal armour is used to protect soldiers and war animals. Vehicle armour is used on warships and armoured fighting vehicles.

A second use of the term armour describes armoured forces, armoured weapons, and their role in combat. After the evolution of armoured warfare, mechanised infantry and their weapons came to be referred to collectively as "armour".

Armour (British spelling) or Armor (American spelling) is protective covering.

The terms Armour or Armor may also refer to:

Armour is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Andrew Watson Armour III (1908–1991), Armour and Company president, relative of Philip Danforth Armour
• Andy Armour (1883–1955), Scottish footballer
• Anthony Armour
• Bill Armour
• Buddy Armour
• Carlos Armour
• David Armour
• Davie Armour
• Edward Armour Peck
• G. Armour Craig
• George Denholm Armour
• Hazel Armour
• Herman Armour Webster
• Herman Ossian Armour (1837–1901), co-founder of Armour and Company
• J. Ogden Armour
• James Armour Johnstone
• James Armour
• Jean Armour Polly
• Jean Armour (1765–1834), known as the "Belle of Mauchline" wife of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns.
• Jennifer Armour
• Jesse Armour Crandall
• JoJuan Armour
• Jody Armour
• John Armour
• John Douglas Armour
• Johnny Armour
• Julian Armour
• Justin Armour
• Leslie Armour
• Lester Armour, III
• Mary Nicol Neill Armour
• Matthew Armour
• Neil Armour
• Norman Armour
• Philip Danforth Armour (1832–1901), meatpacker and businessman, founder of Armour and Company
• Rebecca Agatha Armour
• Richard Armour (1906–1989), American author and poet
• Robert Armour
• Roger Armour
• Ryan Armour
• Stanley Armour Dunham
• Thomas Armour
• Tommy Armour III
• Tommy Armour
• Vernice Armour
• Wal Armour
• William Allan Armour

Armour is an oil painting by Ragnhild Keyser (1889-1943), probably from 1926.

Armour or armor in animals is external or superficial protection against attack by predators, formed as part of the body (rather than the behavioural use of protective external objects), usually through the hardening of body tissues, outgrowths or secretions. It has therefore mostly developed in 'prey' species. Armoured structures are usually composed of hardened mineral deposits, chitin, bone or keratin.

Armour is evident on numerous animal species from both current and prehistoric times. Dinosaurs such as Ankylosaurus, as well as other Thyreophora (armoured dinosaurs such as Ankylosauria and Stegosauria), grew thick plate-like armour on their bodies as well as offensive armour appendages such as the thagomizer or a club. The armour took many forms, including osteoderms, spikes, horns and plates. Other dinosaurs such as ceratopsian dinosaurs as well as some sauropods such as Saltasaurus, grew armour to defend themselves, although armour in sauropods overall is uncommon.

In modern times, some molluscs employ the use of shells as armour, and armour is evident in the chitinous exoskeleton of arthropods. Fish use armour in the form of scales, whether 'cosmoid', 'ganoid' or 'placoid' and in some cases spines, such as on fish such as the stickleback. The chalky plate, or cuttlebone, of cuttlefish also acts as armour. Most reptiles have scaly skin which protects them from predators in addition to water retention; the crocodile's exoskeleton and the shells of the Chelonia - tortoises, turtles and terrapins.

Numerous mammals employ the use of spines and body armour, although not as sturdy as reptilian armour, like the spines of the echidnas and of porcupines and hedgehogs. The bony shell of the armadillos and the extinct Glyptodon were very much like Ankylosaurus' armour and some modern armadillos curl up into a ball when threatened, making them unexposed due to their armour. Similarly, the hairy plate-like scales of the pangolin are employed in the same way and are constructed of the same material used in the offensive armour, the horn, of the rhinoceros.

Armour, although all used for the sole intent to ward off attackers, can be split into defensive and offensive armour. Examples of offensive armour are horns, hooves, antlers, claws and beaks, clubs and pincers, as developed in some mammals, birds, reptiles (including dinosaurs, such as the dromaeosaurid claw and the ceratopsian horn) and arthropods. Offensive armour is often used in conjunction with defensive armour and in some cases makes an animal almost unassailable.