suspension English · revision 6554

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1421|origins=la pendeo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /səˈspɛnʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English suspensioun, [[bor|la|suspēnsio|t=a hanging up; a vaulting]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) partly through French,^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|suspendo|alt=suspendere|t=to hang up]] (see [[suspend]]), from [[m|la|sub-|t=up from under]] and [[m|la|pendeo|alt=pendere|t=to hang]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A temporary halting or deprivation, as of office or privilege: 1421 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Execution by hanging is an early 15th-century sense, and the literal action of hanging from above is from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) The general sense, a stopping or condition of being stopped, is from about 1600, 1603 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Keeping a decision or judgment in abeyance is from the 1560s,^(Etymonline) and Coleridge's ''willing suspension of disbelief'' is from 1817.^(Etymonline) A mixture in which fine particles float without dissolving is from 1707.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The suspension bridge is from 1819–21,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the system of springs supporting a vehicle is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) In Scots law a suspension was a suit to stay a legal process.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1421 – a temporary deprivation.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1560s – suspension of judgment.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – a stopping.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1707 – particles in a liquid.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1817 – suspension of disbelief.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1819 – suspension bridge.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The temporary removal of someone from a job, team or school, as a punishment.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A temporary stop or delay: ''suspension of talks''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The system of springs and [[shock absorber|alt=shock absorbers]] supporting a vehicle on its wheels.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' A mixture in which fine particles are dispersed in a liquid or gas without dissolving.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The act of hanging something from above.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[presuspension]]

+ * [[resuspension]]

+ * [[suspension bridge]]

+ * [[suspension points]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[suspend]]

+ * [[suspender]]

+ * [[suspense]]

+ * [[suspenser]]

+ * [[suspensive]]

+ * [[pendant]]

+ * [[pending]]

+ * [[depend]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}