suspend
pronunciation
How to pronounce suspend in British English:
UK [səˈspend]
How to pronounce suspend in American English:
US [səˈspend]
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- Verb:
- hang freely
- cause to be held in suspension in a fluid
- bar temporarily; from school, office, etc.
- stop a process or a habit by imposing a freeze on it
- make inoperative or stop
- as of a prison sentence
Word Origin
- suspend
- suspend: [13] To suspend something is etymologically to ‘hang it up’. The word comes via Old French suspendre from Latin suspendere ‘hang up’, a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘up from under’, hence ‘up’, and pendere ‘hang’ (source of English depend, pendent, etc). The metaphorical sense ‘delay’ developed in Latin.=> depend, pendant, pendulum
- suspend (v.)
- c. 1300, "to bar or exclude temporarily from some function or privilege;" also "to set aside (a law, etc.), to cause to cease for a time," from Old French sospendre "remove from office; hang up" (12c.), or directly from Latin suspendere "to hang up, kill by hanging; make uncertain, render doubtful; stay, stop, interrupt, set aside temporarily," from assimilated form of sub "up from under" (see sub-) + pendere "cause to hang, weigh" (see pendant). In English, the literal sense of "to cause to hang by a support from above" is recorded from mid-15c. Related: Suspended; suspending.
Example
- 1. The wwf has been forced to suspend several projects .
- 2. They were forced to suspend their espionage activities after their identities were compromised .
- 3. Germany is to suspend military conscription from next july .
- 4. They can suspend share buybacks .
- 5. Listing 3 shows a servlet example used to suspend and resume requests in a chat web application .