English
depend
Depend comes from Latin dependeō ‘to hang down, from or on’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-‘to stretch’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pn̥d-éh₁ye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendējōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*pendēō‘to hang, to be hanging’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendeō‘to be suspended, hang’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdependeō‘to hang down, from or on’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400dependre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dependen
- Englishearliest quotation 1703depend
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-‘to stretch’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pn̥d-éh₁ye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendējōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*pendēō‘to hang, to be hanging’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendeō‘to be suspended, hang’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdependeō‘to hang down, from or on’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400dependre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dependen
- Englishearliest quotation 1703depend
Earliest quotation: 1703, The History Of King William The Third. I: “While the Bishops Affair was depending, the King sent…”
The story
In this sense, displaced native Old English hangian (‘to hang or depend’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’
expensive, spend, span, pound, compensation, expense, pension, compensate, expenditure, poise, penthouse, appendix, perpendicular, pendant, pansy, peso, dispensation, compendium, piso, recompense, pensive, expend, append, 18 more
through Latin pendeō ‘to be suspended, hang’
Today it means
verb To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / depend