Awaiting a decision, settlement, or completion; not yet determined or resolved. In a state of suspension or delay.
From Latin 'pendere' meaning 'to hang,' through French 'pendant.' The metaphor of something 'hanging' in suspension perfectly captures the state of unresolved matters.
Pending beautifully illustrates how physical metaphors become abstract concepts - something literally hanging became something figuratively unresolved. Legal documents still use 'pending' to evoke this image of matters suspended in legal limbo.
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