Dependent

How to spell dependent

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce dependent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dependent mean?

1. adjectiveRelying on someone or something else for support, existence, or a particular outcome.
2. nounA person who relies on another, especially for financial support, such as a child or non-working spouse.

Dependent in a sentence

• adjective

  The whole project is dependent on funding that has not yet been approved.

• noun

  The form asks you to list each dependent living in your household.

• adjective

  Newborn animals are completely dependent on their mothers for food.

• noun

  The health plan covers the employee and one dependent.

Where does dependent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb dependere, which literally meant 'to hang down' or 'to hang from', built from de- meaning 'down' and pendere meaning 'to hang'. The image of one thing hanging from another shifted naturally into the figurative sense of relying on something for support, just as a weight hangs from its anchor. English picked the word up through Old French in the late Middle Ages, and the present participle form dependant supplied the spelling that English smoothed into dependent. The same pendere root still hangs inside many everyday relatives, including pendant, pending, suspend, and even pension. The -ent ending here is the classic spelling trap, since the rival -ant ending survives in British usage for the noun dependant, which is exactly why writers hesitate between the two.

How the word is built

• de- (down, from)
• pend (to hang)
• -ent (adjective/noun suffix)