English
suspend
Suspend comes from Latin suspendo ‘to hang up or suspend’, from pendo ‘to weigh, weigh out’, and ultimately from 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)péndetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendo‘to weigh, weigh out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspendoas suspendere‘to hang up or suspend’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sospendre
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606suspend
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)péndetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendo‘to weigh, weigh out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspendoas suspendere‘to hang up or suspend’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sospendre
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606suspend
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “Suspend your indignation against my brother.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’
pound, span, depend, poise, pendant, pansy, pensive, 16 more
through Latin pendo ‘to weigh, weigh out’
expensive, compensation, spending, expense, pension, compensate, expenditure, appendix, perpendicular, penthouse, peso, compendium, dispensation, recompense, piso, expend, append, spender, 13 more
Today it means
verb To halt something temporarily.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / suspend