Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Hanging loosely; suspended so as to swing or sway.
  • adjective Wavering; undecided.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Hanging loosely or swinging freely from a fixed point above; hanging; swinging; loosely pendent: as, pendulous ears.
  • In zoology, specifically applied — To the pensile nests of birds, which hang like a purse or pouch from the support.
  • To the penis, clitoris, or scrotum when loosely hanging from the perineum or abdomen, as in various monkeys, marsupials, etc.
  • In botany, same as pendent, more especially when the flexure is from weakness of the support.
  • In suspense; wavering; doubting; undecided.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Depending; pendent loosely; hanging; swinging.
  • adjective rare Wavering; unstable; doubtful.
  • adjective (Bot.) Inclined or hanging downwards, as a flower on a recurved stalk, or an ovule which hangs from the upper part of the ovary.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective hanging as if from a support
  • adjective indecisive or hesitant
  • adjective biology having branches etc. that bend downwards; drooping or weeping

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having branches or flower heads that bend downward

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin pendulus, from pendēre, to hang; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

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