depended

Depended is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb depend. It expresses reliance on or contingency upon something or someone in the past, or occurrence of that reliance in the past.

Etymology: The word derives from dependere, a Latin verb formed from de- meaning down or away and pendere meaning to hang. It passed into English through Old French and Middle English, acquiring the modern form depend with the past tense depended.

Usage and meaning: In use, depended conveys that the outcome or condition relied on a factor that is now in the past. Examples include: The project depended on securing funding; Her success depended on her ability to stay focused; Whether the plan would proceed depended on regulatory approval. The sense can be general (reliance) or conditional (contingent on another factor).

Grammar notes: Depend is a regular verb; its forms are depend, depended, depended. It commonly takes the prepositional phrase on or upon, as in depend on someone or something. The present tense is depends, as in “The outcome depends on voter turnout.” Related forms include dependent (as an adjective or noun) and dependence or dependency (the state or condition of reliance).

Related concepts: Dependence, dependence on others, and dependability (the quality of being reliable). Depended is often contrasted with depends to reflect different temporal contexts. In formal or academic writing, precise phrasing clarifies what is being depended upon and whether the dependency is external, internal, or conditional.