dependence
/dɪˈpendəns/dih-PEN-duhns
/dɪˈpɛndəns/dih-PEN-duhns
Meaningthe state of hanging from
Common meaning: reliance on someone or something
- dedown, away, off; undoing
- pendto weigh; to hangLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1328 · scan
- encenoun ending: doing, or the condition that results
‘down, away, off’ + ‘to weigh’ → dependence
Journey through time
- Latinpendō; pendeō‘to weigh’
- Old Frenchdependresource
- Englishdepend‘to rely on’
- Englishformed in English from dependdependence‘reliance on someone or something’ · today
Sources & notes
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 + -ence.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), DEPEND, p.161 · scan
Roots
- pendō; pendeō Latin “to weigh; to hang”
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