Suspendu

Suspendu is a French adjective formed from the verb suspendre. It denotes something that is hanging, held in the air, or otherwise kept in a suspended state. It can also describe a temporary halt or pending status in various contexts. The word agrees in gender and number: masculine singular suspendu, feminine singular suspendue, masculine plural suspendus, feminine plural suspendues.

In everyday use, suspendu often refers to physical suspension, such as an object hanging from a support or a bridge described as pont suspendu (a suspension bridge). It can also describe items in construction or transportation that are temporarily supported or held aloft.

In legal and administrative language, suspendu commonly denotes a temporary halt or deferment. For example, une décision est suspendue means the decision is deferred, or la fonction est suspendue means the person is temporarily removed from duties. In criminal and administrative law, phrases like peine suspendue (a suspended sentence) or suspension de fonction are used to indicate that a penalty or duty is postponed or conditional.

In sports, a player or official may be described as suspendu when their participation is temporarily prohibited pending an investigation or sanction.

Linguistically, suspendu participates in compound tenses as the past participle and is widely found in formal and official discourse. Related terms include suspension (the act or state of being suspended) and sursis (a related concept in which a sentence is deferred with conditions).

Across languages, the concept maps to terms such as suspended in English, suspendedido in Spanish, sospeso in Italian, and suspendu in French.