exoskeleton

The full-body carapace exoskeleton was coined by UK zoologists to describe insect anatomy in the 1840s. It’s from ancient Greek ἔξω (exo), meaning “outer” + skeleton, which comes into English from scientific Latin in the early 1600s. Latin sceleton also has an ancient Greek origin, from σκελετός (skeletós), meaning “dried up, withered”.

Why are exoskeletons not more prevalent in nature? Besides the strict size limit imposed on internal structure, nature must also solve the problem of what should happen when the animal grows too large for its rigid exoskeleton. Insects periodically undergo a process called ecdysis, from ancient Greek ἔκδυσις (ékdusis), meaning “stripping”, where they molt off their exoskeleton, leaving it behind as exuviae (this time from Latin “castoff”).

The idea of artifical exoskeletons takes over 100 years to take shape, originating with Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 science fiction novel Starship Troopers. They were popularized in the 1986 film Aliens, for which director James Cameron explicitly drew inspiration from the book. Powered armor only became a staple science fiction technology in the decade after Aliens.