dependency

noun — 7 senses

dependency

noun

UK /dɪˈpɛndənsi/

Etymology From dependent + -cy or dependence + -y or depend + -ency.

7 senses
  1. 1A state of dependence; a refusal to exercise initiative.
  2. 2Something dependent on, or subordinate to, something else
  3. 3The status of being a legal dependent; the relationship…
  4. 4A colony, or a territory subject to rule by an external power.
  5. 5A dependence on a habit-forming substance such as a drug…
  6. 6Reliance on the functionality provided by some other…
  7. 7An external component whose functionality is relied on.
1

A state of dependence; a refusal to exercise initiative.

  • Frank's sullen dependency was driving his father nuts.
2

Something dependent on, or subordinate to, something else

  • In the United States' governmental structure, the military is conceived as a dependency under the executive branch.
3

The status of being a legal dependent; the relationship between a dependent and their provider.

  • In discussing this dependency, the Board said that there was clearly such a relationship. Charles Glassman, Donovan's attorney, said "Finnerty [worked] as deputy district attorney and Donovan lived off [Finnerty's] salary."1983 December 31, Christine Guilfoy, “Gay Man in California Granted Survivor Benefits”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 24, page 1:
  • The rules for dependency require that the person claiming the dependency provide more than half of the children's support for the year. Length of time spent with the child is not a consideration. Since your parents probably paid more, they get to claim the dependencies.1999 March 12, TexTax2, “child deductions”, in misc.taxes.moderated (Usenet):
4

A colony, or a territory subject to rule by an external power.

  • ‘I have a little theory which you Messieurs who go out there must help me to prove. This is my share in the advantages my country shall reap from the possession of such a magnificent dependency.’1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:
5

A dependence on a habit-forming substance such as a drug or alcohol.

6

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Reliance on the functionality provided by some other, external component.

  • This library has dependencies on a lot of other libraries. We have to compile all of those other libraries first.
7

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences An external component whose functionality is relied on.

  • One of this library's dependencies is very finicky. It can be hard to get it to compile on some systems.
Derived terms
27 termsautodependency, British Crown dependency, chemical dependency, chemidependency, codependency, Crown dependency, crown dependency, dependency culture, dependency grammar, dependency hell, dependency injection, dependency inversion principle, dependency ratio, dependency theory, engineered dependency, environmental dependency syndrome, functional dependency, high dependency unit, interdependency, overdependency, partial dependency, path dependency, Ross Dependency, technodependency, thermodependency, transitive dependency, trivial functional dependency
Related terms
dependee, depender, dependence

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.