light-dependent
|light-de-pend-ent|
/laɪt dɪˈpɛndənt/
relying on light
Etymology
'light-dependent' originates from English, specifically the words 'light' and 'dependent', where 'light' comes from Old English 'līht' (or Proto-Germanic '*leuhtam') meaning 'brightness' (and also 'not heavy'), and 'dependent' originates from Latin 'dependēre' where 'de-' meant 'down' and 'pendere' meant 'to hang.'
'dependent' changed from Latin 'dependēre' into Old French/Anglo-Norman and Middle English forms (e.g. 'dependen(t)') and eventually combined with the English word 'light' to form the modern compound adjective 'light-dependent.'
Initially the component words meant 'brightness' (light) and 'to hang down' (depend), but when combined the compound came to mean 'relying on light' or 'determined by the presence of light.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relying on or determined by light; requiring light to function or occur (used especially of biological or chemical processes).
Many photosynthetic organisms have light-dependent reactions that capture energy from sunlight.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/09 11:20