# depend

Pronunciation: say "di-PEND" /dɪˈpɛnd/

## Verb

1. To be determined or conditioned by something else, which serves as a necessary condition for it.
   - Simple: To be decided or controlled by something else, or possible only if a particular condition is met.
   - _Outcomes like these depend on factors no one can fully control._
   - _How quickly the wound heals depends on the patient's overall health._
2. To place trust or confidence in someone or something, relying on them for support or help.
   - Simple: To trust someone or something to do or provide what you need.
   - _The team depends on its captain to make the tough calls._
   - _We depend on each other during the busy season._
3. To make one thing contingent on another, setting the second as a necessary condition.
   - Simple: To make one thing rely on another, setting the second as a required condition.
4. To hang downward, sustained by being attached to something above, as a badge or ornament suspended from another element. *(literary)*
   - Simple: To hang down from something higher that holds it up.
   - _From the chandelier depend dozens of crystal pendants._
   - _A small wax seal depends from the charter by a silken cord._

## Verb

5. To remain pending; to be still undetermined or undecided. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To still be waiting to be settled or decided.

## Origin

The root is Latin dependeō, made of dē- plus pendeō ("to hang"); through Old French dependre, it gave Middle English dependen. In the sense "be contingent," it pushed out the native Old English hangian ("to hang or depend").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/depend (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).