Pendant

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Egypte louvre 079b pendentif.jpgA pendant (from Old French) is a hanging object, generally attached to a necklace or an earring. In modern French this is an usual word meaning “during” (but also the gerund form of "hanging").

Pendants have several purposes:

• ornamentation
• identification (i.e. religious symbols, sexual symbols, symbols of rock bands)
• protection (i.e. amulets, religious symbols)
• self-affirmation (i.e. initials, names)
• ostentation (i.e. jewels).

These purposes can be combined (i.e. a richly jewelled symbol).

The word should not be confused with "pennant".

Other meanings of "pendant"

• A teach pendant is a portable control device used in industrial robotics.

• A cable pendant is one of a series of cables that is horizontally suspended across a flight deck of aircraft carriers for aircraft to land by catching with tailhook.nl:Hanger