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pen·sile

(pĕnsīl′)

adj.

1. Hanging loosely; suspended: an oriole's pensile nest.

2. Having or building a hanging nest. Used of birds.

[Latin pēnsilis, from pēnsus, past participle of pendēre, to hang; see (s)pen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

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pensile

pensile nest of a southern masked-weaver

Ploceus velatus

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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