pendent

adjective

pen·​dent ˈpen-dənt 

variants or pendant

1

: jutting or leaning over : overhanging

a pendent cliff

2

: supported from above : suspended

icicles pendent from the eaves

3

: remaining undetermined : pending

Synonyms of pendent

• dangling
• hanging

Examples of pendent in a Sentence

the dining area is lit by tasteful pendent lamps over the tables

Recent Examples on the Web

Photo : Sotheby's A pair of fancy intense yellow diamond and diamond pendent earrings. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 4 May 2025

Overhead, a contemporary metal pendant light adds just the right amount of tension. —Monika Biegler Eyers, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Mar. 2025

Another key design in the collection is an elephant pendant, which features some 50 carats of pear-, oval- and brilliant-cut emeralds as well as 2 carats of diamonds. —Lily Templeton, WWD, 6 Mar. 2025

In addition, a pair of stud-style earrings are listed at $275, and a sterling silver Star of David pendant at $300. —Natalie Venegas, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025

Her accessories included a gold clutch and silver pendant necklace. —Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Mar. 2025

Here, nuts and bolts become rings, buzzsaws become bangles, and screws become pendant charms. —Mekaylah Yowpp-Hernacki, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pendaunt "hanging, suspended, overhanging," borrowed from Anglo-French pendant, pendaunt "hanging (up or down), dangling, suspended" (continental Old French pendant), from present participle of pendre "to hang," going back to Vulgar Latin *pendere, transitive and intransitive verb formed from the stem of Latin pendēre "to be suspended, hang, be uncertain, depend (on)," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin possessed both an intransitive verb of the second conjugation pendēre "to hang" and a corresponding transitive verb pendere, though the latter, in all likelihood having originally meant "to hang," is attested only in the extended senses "to weigh, have a weight of, pay (out), estimate, consider" (compare pension entry 1, pensive). In the spoken Latin of the final years of the Roman Empire, a new third-conjugation verb *pendere was formed to express the meaning "hang" both transitively and intransitively. (Transitive "hang" had been expressed in classical Latin largely by compound verbs such as suspendere–see suspend). The verb pendere in the specific sense "to execute by hanging" occurs textually in a capitulary (596) of the Merovingian king Childebert II and in the Lex Ribuaria, a seventh-century collection of Germanic law (see citations in J.F. Niermeyer, Mediae Latinitatis lexicon minus).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pendent

• pendant
• tendent
• appendant
• ascendant
• attendant
• defendant
• dependant
• dependent
• descendant
• descendent
• intendant
• resplendent

Kids Definition

pendent

adjective

pen·​dent

variants or pendant

ˈpen-dənt 

1

: sticking out or hanging over

2

: supported from above

3

: pending entry 2 sense 1

Legal Definition

pendent

adjective

pen·​dent

ˈpen-dənt

1

: remaining undetermined : pending sense 1

a pendent suit

2

: of, relating to, or being the basis of pendent jurisdiction or pendent party jurisdiction

the Supreme Court drew a sharp distinction between pendent claims and pendent parties

—National Law Journal

3

: dependent sense 1

is pendent upon another claim

Etymology

Middle French pendant suspended, present participle of pendre to hang, ultimately from Latin pendēre