Panzer is a loanword from German. The German noun Panzer (plural: Panzer), German pronunciation (listen ), English , means armour in the sense of protective equipment such as Plattenpanzer (plate armour) or Schutzpanzer (protective armour), or armoured forces (today, tank organizations and the tanks themselves) as in Panzerdivision. It is derived from the French pancier ("breastplate", compare English paunch). The word has been calqued in many languages, such as Swedish pansarvagn or Finnish panssarivaunu for any tracked armoured fighting vehicle.
The term has been accepted in English as a colloquialism to refer to a main battle tank or other armored vehicle, usually a Second World War German model. The term is usually not used outside this context, although it can refer to modern German tanks or be used as an adjective describing other modern or former German military units (e.g. Panzergrenadier - mechanised infantry). The term gained infamy in English during Germany's successful Blitzkrieg armoured advances of World War II.