It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 21st.
Today's word is paraphernalia, spelled P-A-R.
It can refer to objects or items that are used to do a particular activity,
as well as objects or items that are typically associated with a particular activity or subject.
The word can also refer generally to personal belongings.
Here's the word used in a sentence from the Toledo Blade.
Attendees schmoozed as they shopped the silent auction items,
which included sports paraphernalia, sports entertainment and vacation packages, and more.
Today,
the word paraphernalia is typically encountered in its equipment and accessory senses in such common contexts as fishing paraphernalia,
music paraphernalia, and drug paraphernalia.
But the word hasn't always been used in these ways.
Originally, paraphernalia referred to property that a married woman owned herself,
as distinct from her husband's property or the dowry she brought to the marriage.
Paraphernalia came to English via medieval Latin from the Greek term,
meaning bride's property beyond her dowry, from para meaning beyond and ferne meaning dowry.
Although paraphernalia was plural in medieval Latin,
it can take either a singular or plural verb in English.
In other words, both coffee paraphernalia lines the cafe's shelves,
and coffee paraphernalia line the cafe's shelves are acceptable.