English
impend
Impend comes from Latin impendeō ‘to hang over, to weigh out’, 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 CEimpendeōas impendere‘to hang over, to weigh out’
- Englishearliest quotation 1789impend
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 CEimpendeōas impendere‘to hang over, to weigh out’
- Englishearliest quotation 1789impend
Earliest quotation: 1789, John Moore, Zeluco: “The Earl had often heard of a rich citizen…”
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, pensive, expend, recompense, append, 17 more
through Latin pendeō ‘to be suspended, hang’
Today it means
verb To hang or be suspended over (something); to overhang.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / impend