Dictionary.com
definitions

dependency

or de·pend·an·cy

[dih-pen-duh n-see]
See more synonyms for dependency on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural de·pend·en·cies.
  1. the state of being dependent; dependence.
  2. something dependent or subordinate; appurtenance.
  3. an outbuilding or annex.
  4. 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. 2018

Related Words for dependencies

need, addiction, colony, assurance, belief, credence, expectation, faith, hope, responsibility, stability, stock, trust, interdependence, steadiness, responsibleness, trustiness, trustworthiness, attachment, contingency

Examples from the Web for dependencies

Historical Examples of dependencies

  • They have two dependencies in their hope to move you to compliance.

    Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • You will allow me to omit all description of land and people in Egypt and its dependencies.

    Freeland

    Theodor Hertzka

  • In the year 1550 there was a general reunion of the towns and their dependencies at Mani.

  • As to the actual government of Rome and her dependencies, it could not well be worse.

    Glances at Europe

    Horace Greeley

  • In that year a British force reduced Java and its dependencies.

    A Visit to Java

    W. Basil Worsfold

British Dictionary definitions for dependencies

dependency

sometimes US dependancy

noun plural -cies
  1. a territory subject to a state on which it does not border
  2. a dependent or subordinate person or thing
  3. psychol overreliance by a person on another person or on a drug, etc
  4. 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 dependencies
n.

"territories subordinate to another nation," 1680s; see dependency.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper