Etymologically
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paraphernalis

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Forms

paraphernalis (neuter paraphernale); third-declension adjective[1][2] Medieval spellings include parafrenalis, parafernalis, parapharnalis and perefrenalis.[1][2]

Etymology

It is a medieval adjective from Latin parapherna (“a wife's property besides her dowry”),[1][2][3] formed with the suffix -ālis.[4] The noun goes back to Ancient Greek παράφερνα (parápherna).[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a medieval legal word;[4] Alexander Neckam already asks which things are parafernales.[4] It was used in the phrase bona paraphernalia, the goods a wife brought into the marriage apart from her dowry.[5][1] The Polish dictionary cites a Silesian document of 1417 speaking of res paraphernales.[2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval law it qualified a married woman's own property, sometimes distinguished from the dowry, as in the phrases bona paraphernalia and res paraphernales; the neuter plural paraphernalia could also stand alone for such goods.[5][4][1] In Poland it was also used of a bride's trousseau and household goods.[2]

English took over paraphernalia in the 1650s as a legal term for a woman's property besides her dowry; the sense of equipment or odds and ends is recorded from 1736.[3]

Timeline

  • 1417 – A Silesian document speaks of res paraphernales.[2]
  • 1650s – English borrows the neuter plural as paraphernalia, a term of law.[3]
  • 1736 – English paraphernalia is first recorded in the sense of equipment.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (law) Belonging to a married woman's own property beyond her dowry: bona paraphernalia, such goods.[5][1][4]
  2. (neuter plural as a noun) A wife's own goods; also a bride's trousseau, household goods.[4][2]

Usage notes

English paraphernalia is short for the Medieval Latin phrase paraphernalia bona.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill