English
pendant
Pendant comes from Anglo-Norman pendaunt, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-‘to stretch’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pendaunt
- Englishearliest quotation 1644pendant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-‘to stretch’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pendaunt
- Englishearliest quotation 1644pendant
Earliest quotation: 1644, Kenelme [i.e., Kenelm] Digby: “a pendant being brought up to any height by…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’
expensive, spend, pound, compensation, expense, pension, span, depend, compensate, expenditure, poise, appendix, perpendicular, penthouse, peso, compendium, dispensation, pansy, recompense, piso, expend, pensive, append, 18 more
Today it means
noun A supporting post attached to the main rafter.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / pendant