Dependable

How to spell dependable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce dependable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dependable mean?

1. adjectiveAble to be relied on; trustworthy and consistent.

Dependable in a sentence

• The team needed a dependable supplier who delivered on time.

• Her old car proved surprisingly dependable on the long commute.

Where does dependable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb pendere, meaning 'to hang' or 'to weigh', which gave rise to dependere, literally 'to hang down from'. The figurative leap from physical hanging to relying on someone makes good sense: a thing that depends 'hangs from' whatever supports it. English took 'depend' through Old French dependre in the 1400s, and by the early 1700s writers had attached the suffix -able to form 'dependable', describing a person or thing on which you can safely hang your trust. The same pendere root sits inside a surprising family of everyday words, including 'pendant', 'pending', 'suspend', and even 'pension'. Remembering that the middle is 'pend' (to hang), not 'pand' or 'pind', is the best guard against misspelling it.

How the word is built

• de- (down, from)
• pend (to hang)
• -able (able to be, suffix forming adjective)