paraphernalia
para·pher·na·lia (par′ə fər nāl′yə, -nā′lē ə)
plural noun
- personal belongings
- any collection of articles, usually things used in some activity; equipment; apparatus; trappings; gear
- Law, Obsolete
- personal property given to a wife by her husband which he may dispose of during his life, but which passes to her at his death
- the separate personal property of a wife over which her husband has no control
Etymology: ML, short for paraphernalia bona, wife's own goods < LL parapherna < Gr, bride's possessions beyond her dower < para-, beyond (see para-) + phernē, a dowry, portion < pherein, to bear
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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