Depended

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /dɪˈpɛndɪd/

Definitions

1. Relied on someone or something for assistance, support, or to be influenced by them
2. Trusted or counted on a person or thing to provide help or be a source of support
3. Had confidence in or needed the aid or presence of a particular person or thing

Etymology: Before it meant relying on someone or something, "depend" meant simply to hang down. Its Latin ancestor, "dependeō," combined "dē-" (down, away) with "pendeō" (to hang or be suspended), so the image is literal: something dangling from a support. English borrowed the idea through Old French "dependre," and in Middle English it displaced the native Old English "hangian," which also meant to hang or depend. The older word survives today only in "hang." "Depended" is simply the past tense and past participle of "depend," so its story is that of the verb itself. The sense of hanging from something gradually became the sense of being held up by something else, which is how the modern meaning of needing or trusting a person or thing grew out of the original picture of a weight suspended from a support.

Synonyms: relied, counted, needed

Antonyms: independent, self-sufficient