The etymology of this verb and the many nouns related to it has defied scholarly attention. A Greek etymon seems almost inevitable, though, so we see no reason not to connect it with φερνίζω "to provide an endowment”. The recent article by A. Butts, "The Etymology of Aramaic (and Hebrew) √prns ‘to distribute, supply’”, JAOS 137(2017): 245ff. is totally unconvincing, for the initial consonant should correspond to Greek φ not π.