different between paraphernalia vs impedimenta

English

Etymology

A loan from Ancient Greek ????????? (parápherna, “goods which a wife brings over and above her dowry”), a compound of ???? (pará, “beside”) +? ????? (phern?, “dowry”), i.e. “things additional to a 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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?pæ??f??ne?li.?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p???f??ne?li.?/, /?p???f??ne?li.?/
• Rhymes: -e?li?
• Hyphenation: par?a?pher?na?lia

Noun

paraphernalia pl (plural only)

1. Miscellaneous items, especially the set of equipment required for a particular activity.

   Synonym: stuff
2. (archaic, family law) Things a married woman owns, such as clothing and jewellery, apart from her dowry.

   Synonym: parapherna

Translations

Further reading

• paraphernalia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

English

Etymology

Latin impedimenta, circa 1600. Compare impediment.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?p?d??m?nt?/

Noun

impedimenta

1. Equipment intended for an activity that serves as more of a hindrance than a help, especially military baggage.
   • 1892, Julian Ralph, On Canada's Frontier

     On the plains they will have horses dragging travoises, dogs with travoises, women and children loaded with impedimenta.

   • 1949: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, p.20

     Games impedimenta — hockey-sticks, boxing-gloves, a burst football, a pair of sweaty shorts turned inside out — lay all over the floor, and on the table there was a litter of dirty dishes and dog-eared exercise-books.

2. plural of impedimentum

Synonyms

• impediments

Related terms

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “impedimenta”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Latin

Noun

imped?menta

1. nominative plural of imped?mentum
2. accusative plural of imped?mentum
3. vocative plural of imped?mentum

References

• impedimenta in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers