dependable
/dɪˈpendəbəl/dih-PEN-duh-buhl
/dɪˈpɛndəbəl/dih-PEN-duh-buhl
Meaningthat one can hang down from
Common meaning: able to be depended
- dedown, away, off; undoing
- pendto weigh; to hangLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1328 · scan
- ableable to be
‘down, away, off’ + ‘to weigh’ → dependable
Journey through time
- Latinpendō; pendeō‘to weigh’
- Old Frenchdependresource
- Englishdepend‘to rely on’
- Englishformed in English from dependdependable‘able to be depended’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: that one can hang down from. It can be inferred from any of: depend.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from depend + -able (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- pendō; pendeō Latin “to weigh; to hang”
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