paraphernalia
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paraphernalia
- /ˌpæɹəfəˈneɪli.ə/ UK
- /ˌpɛɹəfɚˈneɪli.ə/ US
- /ˌpɛɹəfəˈneɪli.ə/ US
Rhymes with -eɪliə
Where it comes from
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.
noun
- Miscellaneous items, especially the set of equipment required for a particular activity. drug paraphernalia
-
Objects that a married woman owns, such as clothing and jewellery, apart from her dowry.
So she told her what her husband had said and sat with her awhile; but, presently, up came porters, who brought all her clothes and paraphernalia and what not else belonged to her of goods and vessels from her husband’s house and deposited them in that of her mother.
Similar: parapherna, paraphernals
Translations
Every language
noun miscellaneous items
| Español | parafernalia |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 雜項物品 /杂项物品 záxiàng wùpǐn, 各種物件 /各种物件 gè zhǒng wùjiàn, 隨身用具 /随身用具 suíshēn yòngjù, 雜件 /杂件 zá jiàn |
| हिन्दी | सामग्री sāmagrī, सामान sāmān |
| Português | parafernália |
| Français | panoplie, attirail |
| Deutsch | Utensilien, Paraphernalien |
| Italiano | paraferni, armamentario, attrezzi, dote |
| Русский | принадле́жности prinadléžnosti, снаряжение snarjaženije |
noun (law) things a married woman owns
| Deutsch | Paraphernalien |
|---|
Talk about this word "paraphernalia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/paraphernalia. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. paraphernalia. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/paraphernalia "paraphernalia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/paraphernalia.Cite this
@misc{paraphernalia_2026,
title = {paraphernalia},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/paraphernalia},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
