depend

views updated May 14 2018

de·pend / diˈpend/ • v. [intr.] 1. (depend on/upon) be controlled or determined by: differences in earnings depended on a wide variety of factors.2. (depend on/upon) rely on: the kind of person you could depend on. ∎  need or require for financial or other support: a town that had depended heavily upon the wool industry. ∎  be grammatically dependent on.3. archaic or poetic/lit. hang down: his tongue depended from open jaws.PHRASES: depending on being conditioned by; contingent on: makes 8–10 burgers (depending on size) | the article sneered or just condescended, depending on how you read it. it (or that) (all) depends used to express uncertainty or qualification in answering a question: How many people use each screen? It all depends.

depend

views updated May 18 2018

depend be suspended, be resultant or contingent upon. XV. — (O)F. dépendre — Rom. *dēpendere, for L. dēpendēre; see DE- 1, PENDENT.
So dependant †dependency; dependent person. XVI. — F. dépendant, sb. use of prp. of dépendre. dependent pendent XV; contingent XVI; subordinate, subject XVII. orig. dependant — (O)F. dépendant. So dependence †dependency XV; dependent condition XVII. — (O)F. dépendance. dependency dependence XVI; dependent country or province XVII; see -ENCY.

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depend

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