to rely; place trust (usually fol. by on or upon): You may depend on the accuracy of the report.
2.
to rely for support, maintenance, help, etc. (usually fol. by on or upon): Children depend on their parents.
3.
to be conditioned or contingent (usually fol. by on or upon): His success here depends upon effort and ability.
4.
to be undetermined or pending: I may go to Europe or I may not, it all depends.
5.
Grammar. (of a word or other linguistic form) to be subordinate to another linguistic form in the same construction; to form a part of a construction other than the head.
6.
to hang down; be suspended (usually fol. by from): The chandelier depends from the ceiling of the ballroom.
Origin: 1375–1425; late ME dependen < OF dependre < L dēpendere to hang down, equiv. to dē-de-+ pendere to hang
To rely, especially for support or maintenance: Children must depend on their parents.
To place trust or confidence: You can depend on his honesty. See Synonyms at rely.
To be determined, conditioned, or contingent: a grade depending on the results of the final exam.
To have a dependence: began to depend more and more on drugs.
To be pending or undecided, as in a court or legislature.
To hang down: "And ever-living Lamps depend in Rows"(Alexander Pope).
[Middle English dependen, to hang down, from Old French dependre, from Latin dēpendēre : dē-, de- + pendēre, to hang; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: In writing, depend is followed by on or upon when indicating condition or contingency, as in It depends on who is in charge. Omission of the preposition is typical of casual speech.
[di-pend] 
