impending
Meaning
(especially of something bad) about to happen soon
Structure
Usage
The dark clouds signaled the impending storm.
There was a sense of impending doom in the silent city.
He was unaware of the impending changes to the company policy.
Etymology
The word "impending" originates from the Latin verb impendēre, meaning "to hang over, to threaten". This Latin term is a compound of the prefix in- (in, upon) and the verb pendēre (to hang). The literal image is of something hanging over one's head, poised to fall, which directly conveys a sense of imminent threat or occurrence. Over time, this concrete physical sense evolved into the modern abstract meaning, primarily used to describe an event, especially an unwelcome one, that is about to happen and feels ominously close.
Analysis
- im: A prefix from Latin in- meaning "in, into, on, upon". - pend: A root from Latin pendēre, meaning "to hang". - ing: An English suffix forming present participles and adjectives from verbs.