paraphernalia
UK /ˌpæɹəfəˈneɪli.ə/ · US /ˌpɛɹəfɚˈneɪli.ə/ noun
- noun Miscellaneous items, especially the set of equipment required for a particular activity. “drug paraphernalia”
- noun (archaic, family law) Objects that a married woman owns, such as clothing and jewellery, apart from her dowry.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin paraphernālia (“goods which a wife brings over and above her dowry”), use as noun (short for paraphernālia bona (“paraphernal goods”)) of neuter plural of paraphernālis, from Late Latin parapherna + Latin -ālis (suffix forming adjectives), from Ancient Greek παράφερνα (parápherna), a compound of παρά (pará, “beside”) + φερνή (phernḗ, “dowry”). In the propertied classes, a dowry was placed under the control of the husband, while the paraphernalia which she brought with her remained the wife’s property.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Something reserved to a wife, over and above her dower, being chiefly apparel and ornaments suited to her degree.
- noun Appendages; ornaments; finery; equipments.
Etymology [LL. paraphernalia bona, fr. L. parapherna, pl., parapherna, Gr. fe`rein to bring. See 1st Bear.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “paraphernalia”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details