Etymologically
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dependence

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˈpɛndəns/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dependaunce, also dependence,[2][3] borrowed from Old French dependance,[4][2][3][5] from dependre (“to hang from; to depend”)[4][6][7] with the suffix -ance,[6][3] and partly from Medieval Latin dēpendentia.[4][2] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1310, for a dependency or something attached to something else.[8] The French verb comes from Latin dēpendeō (“to hang from, hang down”), formed from dē (“from, down”) and pendeō (“to hang”), the source of depend.[4] The OED notes that the word, like dependent, was later remodelled on the Latin pattern, so that the spelling -ance became rare after 1800;[9][4] Etymonline adds that it is the older of the two spellings.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, a matter arising out of a legal action, a consequence: 1414, in the Rolls of Parliament.[2] The state of being dependent is recorded about 1443, in Pecock.[2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline gives the early senses as a consequence or result and the relation of a conclusion to its premise or an effect to its cause.[4] From the mid 15th century the word meant the state of deriving existence, support or direction from something else.[4][2] From the early 17th century it also meant subordination (1614) and reliance or trust (1628).[9][4] The literal sense, hanging down or something that hangs down, is dated to late Middle English by the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English,[5][7] but only from 1697, in Dryden, by the OED and Etymonline; it was always rare and is obsolete.[9][4] In Scots and in law the word also meant the state of awaiting settlement (1605), and in the 17th century a quarrel or affair of honour still pending.[9] The modern sense of a compulsive need for a drug, an addiction, is the latest; it is listed by Merriam-Webster and the American Heritage Dictionary.[10][11]

Timeline

  • 1414 – in law, a consequence of a legal action.[2]
  • c. 1443 – the state of being dependent.[2]
  • before 1535 – logical sequence (obsolete).[9]
  • 1540 – something subordinate or belonging to something else (obsolete by 1794).[9]
  • 1605 – the relation of being conditioned by something else; also a pending matter.[9]
  • 1614 – subordination, the condition of a dependant.[9]
  • 1628 – reliance, confidence, trust.[9][4]
  • 1697 – the action of hanging down (obsolete).[9][4]
  • 1753 – a person or thing relied upon.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The state of relying on someone or something for help or support: the town's dependence on fishing.[12][10][11]
  2. The state of being determined, influenced or conditioned by something else.[11][6][9]
  3. Reliance, trust or confidence.[12][10][11]
  4. (rare) A person or thing that is relied on.[12][10][9]
  5. A compulsive physical or psychological need for a drug or other substance; addiction: treatment for alcohol dependence.[10][11]
  6. (archaic) The state of being undecided or awaiting settlement.[6][9]

Word family

  • codependence
  • nondependence
  • overdependence
  • semidependence

Usage notes

Collins notes the spelling dependance as sometimes used in American English.[12] In the OED the -ance form is rare after 1800,[9] and Merriam-Webster lists it as a variant.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins