A
pendant (from Old French) is a hanging object, generally attached to a
necklace or an
earring[?]. The use of pendants has several purposes;
ornamentation[?] is only one of them; pendants are also used for
identification[?] (i.e. religious
symbols, sexual symbols, symbols of rock bands),
protection[?] (i.e.
amulets, religious symbols),
self-affirmation[?] (i.e. initials, names),
ostentation[?] (i.e.
jewels). Of course these purposes can be combined (i.e. a richly jewelled symbol).