depend
English
Etymology
From Middle English dependen, from Old French dependre and Latin dependeō, from Latin dē- + pendeō (“to hang”).
Pronunciation
Verb
depend (third-person singular simple present depends, present participle depending, simple past and past participle depended)
- (intransitive, followed by on or upon, formerly also by of) To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition; to hinge on.
- We would like to go skiing, but it depends on the amount of snow.
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- (intransitive, followed by on or upon) To trust; to have confidence; to rely.
- we should all be able to depend on the word or assurance of our friends
- we depend on the mailman to come at the usual time.
- (now literary) To hang down; to be sustained by being fastened or attached to something above.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
- The long rows of teeth on the bulwarks glistened in the moonlight; and like the white ivory tusks of some huge elephant, vast curving icicles depended from the bows.
- 1907, Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent:
- Bronze chandeliers with many globes depended from the low, slightly vaulted ceiling, and the fresco paintings ran flat and dull all round the walls without windows, representing scenes of the chase and of outdoor revelry in medieval costumes.
- 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World[1]:
- He had prepared a sort of collar of leather with many straps depending from it.
- 1982, Paul Fussell, My War:
- Besides, if you worked up to be a cadet officer, you got to wear a Sam Browne belt, from which depended a nifty saber.
- (archaic) To be pending; to be undetermined or undecided.
- a cause depending in court
- 1703, The History Of King William The Third. In III Parts:
- While the Bishops Affair was depending, the King sent orders [...]
- 1836, Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Court of King's Bench:
- In perjury, the capias, warrant, and affidavit, are good evidence that a cause was depending.
- 1837, The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe, page 544:
- "A Letter of the King sent to his Proctors at Rome, concerning a Case of his in the said Court depending."
- (transitive) To cause to be contingent or dependent on; to set as a necessity.
- 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1962, page 65:
- There he wilted, obviously depending the disposal of his person and his plight on Bradly, and expecting that to be done at once, too.
Derived terms
Related terms
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Translations
be contingent or conditioned
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trust
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serve
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hang down
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be pending
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References
- “depend”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “depend”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)pend-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛnd
- Rhymes:English/ɛnd/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English literary terms
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with archaic senses
- English transitive verbs