pend1
/pɛnd/Now English regional (East Anglian )
noun
English regional ( East Anglian ). Pressure, strain; an awkward or difficult situation.
Origin
Middle English (in an earlier sense). Apparently the regional (south-eastern and East Anglian) reflex of an Old English (i-mutated) by-form of pound. Compare Middle Low German pend pond (one isolated attestation in a 15th-cent. translation of an Old Frisian document).
pend2
/pɛnd/(also pen) Scottish
noun
An arch, an archway; an arched or vaulted roof or canopy; the vaulted ground floor of a tower or fortified building; a covered passage or entry; (in later use) especially one leading off a street frontage.
Origin
Late Middle English. Probably from pend.
pend3
/pɛnd/verb
[no object] To pinch, be constricting. Also: to press or beat down. Compare pend. Now English regional ( East Anglian ).
Origin
Late Middle English (in an earlier sense). Originally a regional (south-eastern and East Anglian) variant of pind.
pend4
/pɛnd/verb
1 [no object] Now informal. To depend on or upon.
2 [no object] To await conclusion or resolution.
Origin
Late 15th century (in an earlier sense). From Middle French pendre to hang, be suspended and its etymon post-classical Latin pendere for classical Latin pendēre to hang, of uncertain origin. In branch II. after pending adj.1.
pend5
/pɛnd/Chiefly Business
verb
[with object] To treat as pending; to postpone deciding on or attending to; to defer.
Origin
1950s; earliest use found in Pamela Frankau (1908–1967), novelist. Back-formation from pending.