In legal language, "paraphernalia" is a term of art from older
family law. The word "paraphernalia" is plural, meaning "things beyond the dowry". Paraphernalia were the separate property of a married woman, such as
clothing and
jewellery "appropriate to her station", but excluding the assets that may have been included in her
dowry. The term originated in
Roman law, but ultimately comes from Greek (
parápherna), "beyond (
para) the dowry (
phernē)". These sorts of property were considered the separate property of a married woman under
coverture. A husband could not sell, appropriate, or convey good title to his wife's assets considered paraphernalia without her separate consent. They did not become a part of her husband's
estate upon his death, and could be conveyed by a married woman's
will. Changes in
family law and
inheritance law (mirroring trends in the wider society, such as the several
Married Woman's Property Acts of the various common law jurisdictions), have generally rendered the legal concept of paraphernalia obsolete.
In fiction The legal concept of paraphernalia in this sense is an important
plot point in
Anthony Trollope's novel
The Eustace Diamonds. In the novel, it was a matter of some consequence whether the title jewelry was an
heirloom, property of the heirs, or a woman's paraphernalia, freely alienable by her. == See also ==