dependency

or de·pend·an·cy

[dih-pen-duh n-see]

noun, plural de·pend·en·cies.

the state of being dependent; dependence.

something dependent or subordinate; appurtenance.

an outbuilding or annex.

a subject territory that is not an integral part of the ruling country.

Origin of dependency

First recorded in 1585–95; dependence + -y³

Related formsnon·de·pend·an·cy, noun, plural non·de·pend·an·cies.non·de·pend·en·cy, noun, plural non·de·pend·en·cies.self-de·pend·en·cy, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dependancy

The dependancy means any wrong move can have devastating consequences.
Why The Palestinian Authority Is Broke|George Hale|October 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The place is full of Swedish troops, and several officers are quartered in the house of which my hen-coop is a dependancy.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20. December, 1877.|Various
I had rather die than return to a dependancy upon relations I have disobliged.
A Letter Book|George Saintsbury

British Dictionary definitions for dependancy

dependency

sometimes US dependancy

noun plural -cies

a territory subject to a state on which it does not border

a dependent or subordinate person or thing

psychol overreliance by a person on another person or on a drug, etc

another word for dependence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dependancy

dependancy

early variant of dependency, rare since c.1800; see -ance.

dependency

1590s (adj.), 1610s (n.); see dependent + -cy. Originally also dependancy, on the French model, but the Latinate form gradually pushed this into disuse; see -ance. Meaning "territory subordinate to another nation" is recorded from 1680s.