codependencen.
/ˌkəʊdᵻˈpɛnd(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˌkoʊdəˈpɛnd(ə)ns/, /ˌkoʊdiˈpɛnd(ə)ns/ 1. Joint dependence of two or more entities, esp. factors or mathematical objects, on each other, or on some common factor or principle. Also: dependence on two or more factors simultaneously.
ΚΠ
1827 T. Hood National Tales I. 14 After..half jestingly reminding me of the co-dependence of our lives, he dashed the spurs into his horse, and speedily galloped out of sight.
1909 Jrnl. U.S. Infantry Assoc. Mar. 650 It will be seen what a great co-dependence there is between a knowledge of the range and the hitting ability of the skilled shot.
1971 Current Anthropol. 12 1376/2 The most important feature of the new towns in Africa is the growth of a new society in which African and ‘Western’ culture are bound in the closest co-dependence and co-recognition.
1982 Biometrika 69 514 Codependence between X and Y is dependence totally insensitive to ordering of components in any pair of values.
1996 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 351 543 Codependence on two activators is due to simultaneous contacts between separate activators and RNA polymerase.
2015 P. Gerrard & R. M. Johnson Mastering Sci. Computing with R vi. 212 Covariance is a measure of the linear codependence of two variables.
2. Originally U.S. Excessive emotional or psychological reliance on another person (typically a partner or close relative), esp. one with an illness or addiction requiring care or support; reciprocal dependence on another's neediness; a situation or relationship characterized by this; = codependency n.
ΚΠ
1986 A. W. Schaef Co-dependence i. 3 Co-dependence has the beauty of being a ‘grass-roots’ idea.
1989 Washington Post 17 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 28/4 After years of making excuses to his wife's employers and friends.., he discovered there was a word for his habit: codependence.
1996 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 11 May j1 The novel..really conveys Otto's boredom with Simone, her neediness, their co-dependence.
2019 Ploughshares 45 162 My mother didn't stop eating when he left, but her nervous system was so wrecked by codependence that she could neither digest food nor parent properly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1827