A person who relies on another for financial support, especially family members like children or elderly parents. British spelling variant of dependent when used as a noun.
From French dépendant, present participle of dépendre 'to depend', from Latin dependere 'to hang down from'. The distinction between dependant (noun) and dependent (adjective) developed in British English.
The spelling distinction between 'dependant' (noun) and 'dependent' (adjective) is one of those quirky British English conventions - like how 'practice' is a noun but 'practise' is a verb. Americans simplified this by using 'dependent' for both.
Historically, legal and economic systems classified wives, daughters, and servants as 'dependants,' embedding a power imbalance into the term that persists in assumptions about financial/social vulnerability.
Use 'dependent' (adjective) or specify the relationship type: 'spouse,' 'child,' 'beneficiary' to clarify status without implying inherent inferiority.
["dependent","beneficiary","family member","reliant"]
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