[syn: colony, dependency]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dependency \De*pend"en*cy\, n.; pl. Dependencies.
1. State of being dependent; dependence; state of being
subordinate; subordination; concatenation; connection;
reliance; trust.
[1913 Webster]
Any long series of action, the parts of which have
very much dependency each on the other. --Sir J.
Reynolds.
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So that they may acknowledge their dependency on the
crown of England. --Bacon.
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2. A thing hanging down; a dependence.
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3. That which is attached to something else as its
consequence, subordinate, satellite, and the like.
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This earth and its dependencies. --T. Burnet.
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Modes I call such complex ideas which . . . are
considered as dependencies on or affections of
substances. --Locke.
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4. A territory remote from the kingdom or state to which it
belongs, but subject to its dominion; a colony; as, Great
Britain has its dependencies in Asia, Africa, and America.
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Note: Dependence is more used in the abstract, and dependency
in the concrete. The latter is usually restricted in
meaning to 3 and 4.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
dependency
n 1: the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or
something else [syn: dependence, dependance,
dependency]
2: being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that
is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially
alcohol or narcotic drugs) [syn: addiction, dependence,
dependance, dependency, habituation]
3: a geographical area politically controlled by a distant
country [syn: colony, dependency]