deposition

[dep-uh-zish-uh n, dee-puh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deposition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

removal from an office or position.

the act or process of depositing: deposition of the documents with the Library of Congress.

the state of being deposited or precipitated: deposition of soil at the mouth of a river.

something that is deposited.

Law.

the giving of testimony under oath.
the testimony so given.
a statement under oath, taken down in writing, to be used in court in place of the spoken testimony of the witness.

Ecclesiastical.

the interment of the body of a saint.
the reinterment of the body or the relics of a saint.

(initial capital letter) a work of art depicting Christ being lowered from the Cross.

Origin of deposition

1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin dēpositiōn- (stem of dēpositiō) a putting aside, testimony, burial, equivalent to Latin dēposit(us) laid down (see deposit) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsdep·o·si·tion·al, adjectivepost·dep·o·si·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for deposition

removal, impeachment, announcement, evidence, affidavit, allegation, testimony, dismissal, ejection, displacement, degradation, overthrow, discharge, affirmation, declaration

Examples from the Web for deposition

Contemporary Examples of deposition

Also, at the time of his deposition Thicke had been off of pills for two months, because his wife left him in February.
Hey, Hey, Hey Robin Thicke Was Too Vicodin Wasted to Really Write ‘Blurred Lines’
Amy Zimmerman
September 16, 2014
Evans used a “pressure point control technique,” one of the officers testified in his deposition.
I Was Beaten By Chicago’s Dirtiest Cop, Lawsuit Contends
Justin Glawe
September 16, 2014
A brief bio is to be found in a deposition she gave in the criminal case before the felony charge was dropped.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman
Michael Daly
August 20, 2014
At the time of the second deposition, Tihen had been in office for more than a year.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman
Michael Daly
August 20, 2014
In a deposition given under hypnosis two years later, he remembered that he “woke up, saw my death, and looked around.”
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial
Ivan Solotaroff
June 28, 2014

Historical Examples of deposition

In support of his deposition he produced his billet de garde, dated the 8th.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
The officers of justice act, and send their deposition to the Court.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon
I always believed in the truth of his deposition before the judge.
The Fortune of the Rougons
Emile Zola
For it is necessary to read their deposition as of public accusers.
Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates
Plato
"And qualified to administer an oath and take your deposition," said the minister.
Hidden Hand
Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

British Dictionary definitions for deposition

deposition

noun

law

the giving of testimony on oath
the testimony so given
the sworn statement of a witness used in court in his absence

the act or instance of deposing

the act or an instance of depositing

something that is deposited; deposit

Word Origin for deposition

C14: from Late Latin dēpositiō a laying down, disposal, burying, testimony

Deposition

noun

the taking down of Christ's body from the Cross or a representation of this

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deposition

late 14c., "dethronement, putting down from dignity or authority," from Old French deposicion (12c.), from Latin depositionem (nominative depositio), noun of action from past participle stem of deponere (see deposit (v.)).

Meaning "statements made in court under oath" is from early 15c. Meaning "action of depositing" is from 1590s. Properly, deposition belongs to deposit, but deposit and depose have become totally confused and English deposition partakes of senses belonging to both.

deposition in Science

deposition

[dĕp′ə-zĭsh′ən]

The accumulation or laying down of matter by a natural process, as the laying down of sediments in a river or the accumulation of mineral deposits in a bodily organ.

The process of changing from a gas to a solid without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. Carbon dioxide, at a pressure of one atmosphere, undergoes deposition at about -78 degrees Celsius. Compare sublimation.