[sus.pen.sion] n [ME suspensyon, fr. MF suspension, fr. LL suspension-, suspensio, fr. L suspendere] (15c) 1: the act of suspending: the state or period of being suspended: as a: temporary removal from office or privileges b: temporary withholding (as of belief or decision) c: temporary abrogation of a law or rule d (1): the holding over of one or more musical tones of a chord into the following chord producing a momentary discord and suspending the concord which the ear expects; specif: such a dissonance which resolves downward--compare anticipation, retardation (2): the tone thus held over e: stoppage of payment of business obligations: failure--used esp. of a business or a bank f: a rhetorical device whereby the principal idea is deferred to the end of a sentence or longer unit
2. a: the act of hanging: the state of being hung b (1): the state of a substance when its particles are mixed with but undissolved in a fluid or solid (2): a substance in this state (3): a system consisting of a solid dispersed in a solid, liquid, or gas usu. in particles of larger than colloidal size--compare emulsion
3: something suspended
4. a: a device by which something (as a magnetic needle) is suspended b: the system of devices (as springs) supporting the upper part of a vehicle on the axles c: the act, process, or manner in which the pendulum of a timepiece is suspended