paraphernalia

(păr'ə-fər-nāl'yə, -fə-nāl'yə)
pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

1. Personal belongings.
2. The articles used in a particular activity; equipment: a photographer's paraphernalia. See synonyms at equipment.
3. A married woman's personal property exclusive of her dowry, according to common law.

[Medieval Latin paraphernālia, neuter pl. of paraphernālis, pertaining to the parapherna, a married woman's property exclusive of her dowry, from Greek : para-, beyond; see para-¹ + phernē, dowry.]

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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 'miscellaneous belongings or equipment'; it is still normally treated as a plural noun although occasional singular use is attested from the 18th century (a whole paraphernalia of plums, 1845). Some modern examples follow:

Paraphernalia in his flat included Indian clubs and an adapted table to which boys were tied—Independent, 1989

Exposed beams, road signs and horsey paraphernalia, it [a pub] had the perfect mix without being twee—Mirror, 2007.

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noun

Things needed for a task, journey, or other purpose: accouterment (often used in plural), apparatus, equipment, gear, material (used in plural), materiel, outfit, rig, tackle, thing (used in plural), turnout. See means.

IN BRIEF: Miscellaneous articles of equipment or adornment.

The retired ship captain had an impressive collection of nautical paraphernalia.

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For a list of words related to paraphernalia, see:

• Paraphernalia and Behavior - paraphernalia: implements and objects used in preparing and ingesting drugs

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See words rhyming with "paraphernalia."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Paraphernalia.

Common misspelling(s) of paraphernalia

• paraphenalia

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tilbehør, personlige ejendele, hustrus personlige udstyr
n. pl. - remedier

Nederlands (Dutch)
toebehoren, persoonlijke eigendommen van echtgenote, dingetjes/ spulletjes

Français (French)
n. - attirail, (GB) comédie (fam)
n. pl. - affaires personnelles

Deutsch (German)
n. pl. - Habseligkeiten
n. - aktivitätsspezifische Ausstattung, (Rechtsw.) Paraphernalgut

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. pl. - (μτφ.) συμπράγκαλα, καλαμπαλίκια

Italiano (Italian)
accessori, roba, arnesi, corredo

Português (Portuguese)
n. pl. - parafernália (f)

Русский (Russian)
аксессуары, личные вещи

Español (Spanish)
n. - parafernalia, bienes no gananciales
n. pl. - efectos personales

Svenska (Swedish)
n. pl. - attiraljer, tillbehör, utrustning, grejer

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
随身用具, 设备, 全部有关的事物, 器材

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 隨身用具, 設備, 全部有關的事物, 器材
n. pl. - 隨身用具, 設備, 全部有關的事物, 器材

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 장비, 허접 쓰레기
n. pl. - 아내의 소유물

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 身のまわり品, 妻の所有品, 用具, 付属品, 煩雑な手続き

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الجمع) ممتلكات الزوجه الشخصيه, ممتلكات شخصيه, أدوات, معدات‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. pl. - ‮אביזרים, חפצים, כלים‬

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