entry
reliance
/rɪˈlaɪəns/Trust or dependence on someone or something
From O.French, from Latin rely (To fasten).
Word Ancestry
Picture a medieval French crowd being “tied together” into an army: that is the world behind Old French relier, “to fasten, attach, or rally,” from Latin religāre, “to bind fast.” The same Latin binding verb ultimately supplied English religion, whose earliest imagery is not floating mystical vapor but people bound by obligation or faith. By the 1570s, rely had shifted from physically attaching things to attaching one’s faith to a person or plan—rather like pinning your hopes to a sturdy post. Around 1600, English added -ance and turned the action into a condition: reliance. So when you rely on someone, you are metaphorically tying yourself to them; dependence is the knot, and trust is what keeps it from coming loose.
The Story
Picture a medieval French crowd being “tied together” into an army: that is the world behind Old French relier, “to fasten, attach, or rally,” from Latin religāre, “to bind fast.” The same Latin binding verb ultimately supplied English religion, whose earliest imagery is not floating mystical vapor but people bound by obligation or faith. By the 1570s, rely had shifted from physically attaching things to attaching one’s faith to a person or plan—rather like pinning your hopes to a sturdy post. Around 1600, English added -ance and turned the action into a condition: reliance. So when you rely on someone, you are metaphorically tying yourself to them; dependence is the knot, and trust is what keeps it from coming loose.
Modern Usage
A person who thinks they are smart but is actually mediocre
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry
Kin & Kindred
From 'rely'·To fasten, bind, attach, or depend with trust
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ance'·An act, state, quality, or condition
Derived Terms
English words from this root