Etymograph

English

pend

Pend comes from Middle French pendre ‘to hang’, and goes back to Late Latin pendĕre.

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpendĕre1
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pendre1‘to hang’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1832pend1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English pend
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday Evening. […]: “pending upon certain powerful motives”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpendĕreWiktionary, English pend
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pendreWiktionary, English pend‘to hang’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1832pendWiktionary, English pend. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday Evening. […]: “pending upon certain powerful motives”

Linked words

through Late Latin pendĕre

suspension, ponder, dispense, penchant, 9 more

Today it means

verb To hang down; to cause something to hang down

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pend”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Late Latin pendĕre / pend

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