Pendent

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛndənt/

Definitions

1. A suspended object is one that hangs from a higher point, serving both as a decorative element and implying a dependence on a supporting structure
2. The term describes an item that dangles from a structure, often with ornamental intent, and signifies a relationship of reliance
3. An object that hangs freely from a higher point often serves a decorative purpose while also indicating a reliance on a supporting structure

Etymology: The adjective "pendent" is a spelling that English deliberately moved back toward its Latin source. Its ancestor is Latin "pendēns," the present participle of "pendere," meaning "to hang" or "to be suspended." Middle English first took the word in the form "pendaunt," borrowed through Anglo-Norman, and later writers reshaped it to look more like the Latin original. The word's twin is "pendant," which keeps the older spelling and is now used for the ornament that hangs from a necklace. Both come from the same Latin verb, so they are doublets: two forms of one word that entered English by different routes and took on separate jobs. "Pendent" stayed closer to its original sense of something dangling or overhanging, as in a pendent branch or a pendent lamp.

Synonyms: hanging, dangling, suspending