ə̇mˈpend intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin impendēre, from in- in- (II) + pendēre to hang — more at pendant
1. archaic : to hang suspended (as over one's head)
a profuse crop of hair impending over the top of his face — Thomas Hardy
: jut out and seem to hang suspended
the crags … now begin to impend terribly over your way — Thomas Gray
2.
a. : to threaten from near at hand or as in the immediate future : menace
trouble impended over the entire enterprise
b. : to be imminent : give promise of occurring in the immediate future
went indoors because rain impended
: be about to occur
the most critical contests impend — Cabell Phillips