paraphernalia

paraphernalia
\ \ [17] In former times, when a woman married her property was divided into two categories: her dowry, which became the property of her husband, and the rest. The legal term for the latter was paraphernalia, which came via medieval Latin from late Latin parapherna, a borrowing from Greek parápherna. And the Greek word in turn was a compound formed from parábeside’ and phernédowry’. It is a measure of the light in which these remaining odds and ends were viewed that by the early 18th century the term paraphernalia had come to be used dismissively for ‘equipment’ or ‘impedimenta’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Paraphernalia — is a term of art from older law. Paraphernalia was the separate property of a married woman, such as clothing and jewelry appropriate to her station , but excluding the assets that may have been included in her dower. The term originated in Roman …   Wikipedia

  • paraphernalia — originally denoted the personal property (Greek parapherna ‘things set apart [from a dowry]’) that a married woman was legally entitled to regard as her own. Over several centuries of use in English it has acquired the general meaning… …   Modern English usage

  • Paraphernalia — Par a*pher*na li*a, n. pl. [LL. paraphernalia bona, fr. L. parapherna, pl., parapherna, Gr. ?; para beside + ? a bride s dowry, fr. fe rein to bring. See 1st {Bear}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Law) Something reserved to a wife, over and above her dower …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • paraphernalia — I (apparatus) noun accessories, accompaniments, accouterments, apparatus, appliances, articles, attachments, contrivances, conveniences, equipage, equipment, gear, impedimenta, implements, instruments, material, supplies, tools, utensils II… …   Law dictionary

  • paraphernalia — (n.) 1650s, a woman s property besides her dowry, from M.L. paraphernalia (short for paraphernalia bona paraphernal goods ), neut. pl. of paraphernalis (adj.), from L.L. parapherna a woman s property besides her dowry, from Gk. parapherna, neuter …   Etymology dictionary

  • paraphernalia — [par΄ə fər nāl′yə, par΄ə fərnā′lē ə] pl.n. [ML, short for paraphernalia bona, wife s own goods < LL parapherna < Gr, bride s possessions beyond her dower < para , beyond (see PARA 1) + phernē, a dowry, portion < pherein, to BEAR1]… …   English World dictionary

  • Paraphernalia — (Singular Paraphernalium) ist abgeleitet vom Griechischen parapherna, welches sich aus den Wörtern para, neben und pherna, Mitgift zusammensetzt. Mit Paraphernalien bezeichnete man das persönliche Eigentum der Braut, welches neben der Mitgift in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • paraphernalia — apparatus, *equipment, machinery, outfit, tackle, gear, matériel …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • paraphernalia — [n] equipment, belongings accoutrements, apparatus, appurtenances, baggage, effects, equipage, gear, habiliments, impedimenta, impediments, machinery, material, materiel, outfit, regalia, stuff, tackle, things, trappings; concepts 446,496 …   New thesaurus

  • paraphernalia — ► NOUN (treated as sing. or pl. ) ▪ miscellaneous articles, especially the equipment needed for a particular activity. ORIGIN originally in the sense property owned by a married woman : from Latin, from Greek parapherna property apart from a… …   English terms dictionary

  • paraphernalia — [[t]pæ̱rəfə(r)ne͟ɪliə[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT You can refer to a large number of objects that someone has with them or that are connected with a particular activity as paraphernalia. ...a large courtyard full of builders paraphernalia... Get rid of all …   English dictionary

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