paraphernalia
noun

- a collection of objects, esp. equipment needed for or connected with a particular activity

- if you disapprove of the things and events that are involved in a particular system or activity, and you think they are unnecessary, you can refer to them as paraphernalia

The Cambridge Dictionary / Collins Dictionary

—
WORD ORIGIN

“Paraphernalia” came to English, via Medieval Latin, from Greek parapherna, meaning “bride’s property beyond her dowry” from para-, meaning “beyond” and phernē meaning “dowry”.

Nowadays, it can refer to any gear or equipment necessary for a sport or any undertaking. For example, a hockey player’s paraphernalia would include gloves and various pieces of protective padding, while a pastry chef would have a different set of articles such as baking tins and mixers.

—
A PARAPHERNALIA OF “DO-NOT-DISTURB” SIGNS

The “Do Not Disturb” (DND) sign is popular in hotels and motels where guests use them to tell visitors or cleaners that they don’t want interruptions — and one man from Germany became famous for his enormous collection of such signs.

Rainer Weichert’s weird obsession made him a Guinness Book World-Record-Holder in 2014. Since 1990, Rainer has travelled to 188 countries and collected over 18,000 DND signs of all shapes and designs.

From modern signs in English to sign language, Rainer’s collection offers insights into world culture. His collection includes a wooden statue from a Bali beach resort, a 1936 piece from the Berlin Olympic Village, and a 1910 sign from the Canadian General Brock Hotel.

Check out First DND Museum on Flickr for examples:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/43480884@N07/

—
SYNONYMS

- miscellaneous articles, especially the equipment needed for a particular activity

accessories, accompaniments, accoutrements, appurtenances, armamentarium, bag and baggage, baggage, bells and whistles, belongings, bits and bobs, bits and pieces, box of tricks, chattels, clobber, contraptions, contrivances, doobry, doodad(s), doodah, encumbrances, equipage, equipment, fitments, fixtures, gadgetry, gadgets, gear, goods and chattels, gubbins, impedimenta, jigger, junk, kit, kit and kaboodle, materiel, mod con(s), movables, necessaries, odds and ends, odds and sods, PARAPHERNALIA, regalia, rig, rigging, tackle, tools of the trade, trappings, utensils, wherewithal, widgets

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“If you’re into historical objects, the Deutsches Museum in Munich offers a fascinating assortment of 18th and 19th century tools, instruments and old-fashioned PARAPHERNALIA.”

—
THANKS to Luis and Florian for suggesting today’s word

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40