PEND'ANT, noun [Latin pendeo, to hang.] 1. An ornament or jewel hanging at the ear, usually composed of pearl or some precious stone. 2. Any thing hanging by way of ornament. 3. In heraldry, a part hanging from the label, resembling the drops in the Doric frieze. 4. A streamer; a small flag or long narrow banner displayed from a ship's mast head, usually terminating in two points called the swallow's tail. It denotes that a ship is in actual service. The broad pendant is used to distinguish the chief of a squadron. 5. A short piece of rope fixed on each side under the shrouds, on the heads of the main and fore-mast, having an iron thimble to receive the hooks of the tackle. There are many other pendants consisting of a rope or ropes, to whose lower extremity is attached a block or tackle. The rudder-pendant is a rope made fast to the rudder by a chain, to prevent the loss of the rudder when unshipped. 6. A pendulum. [Not used.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI