[treated as sing. or pl.]miscellaneous articles, especially the equipment needed for a particular activity (尤指特定活动所需装备等)各种物件,随身物品 ■trappings associated with a particular institution or activity that are regarded as superfluous 专用服饰;繁文缛节 the rituals and paraphernalia of government. 政府机构的礼仪和繁文缛节。
语源
mid 17th cent. (denoting property owned by a married woman): from medieval Latin, based on Greek parapherna 'property apart from a dowry', from para 'distinct from' + pherna (from phernē 'dower')