deposition

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

noun

1. removal from an office or position.
2. the act or process of depositing:

   deposition of the documents with the Library of Congress.

3. the state of being deposited or precipitated:

   deposition of soil at the mouth of a river.

4. something that is deposited.
5. Law.
   1. the giving of testimony under oath.
   2. the testimony so given.
   3. a statement under oath, taken down in writing, to be used in court in place of the spoken testimony of the witness.
6. Ecclesiastical.
   1. the interment of the body of a saint.
   2. the reinterment of the body or the relics of a saint.
7. (initial capital letter) a work of art depicting Christ being lowered from the Cross.

deposition

¹

/ ˌdiːpə-; ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. law
   1. the giving of testimony on oath
   2. the testimony so given
   3. the sworn statement of a witness used in court in his absence
2. the act or instance of deposing
3. the act or an instance of depositing
4. something that is deposited; deposit

Deposition

²

/ ˌdiːpə-; ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

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

deposition

/ dĕp′ə-zĭsh′ən /

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Compare sublimation

Other Words From

• depo·sition·al adjective
• postdep·o·sition·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deposition¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin dēpositiōn-, stem of dēpositiō “a putting aside, testimony, burial,” equivalent to Latin dēposit(us) “laid down” ( deposit ) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of deposition¹

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

Example Sentences

“Things are very different now. Things evolved during the period of time that I was there where the police commissioners, for all intents and purposes, provided a rubber stamp,” he said in the deposition.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Musk's lawyers say they too had travelled to Los Angeles to be at his deposition last month and "immediately notified the SEC of the emergency".

From BBC

For the 10 September court hearing, the SEC said it spent thousands of dollars to dispatch three lawyers - two from San Francisco and another from Washington DC -so they could take a sworn deposition from the billionaire tech mogul.

From BBC

But SpaceX had posted about the timing of the scheduled launch two days before Mr Musk's deposition date.

From BBC

He slapped open a manila folder to reveal a civil deposition addressed to Corinne Leone, the director of Law Library Services: “Why do we have outdated typewriters when we have tablets?”

From Slate

Related Words

• affidavit
• allegation
• announcement
• evidence
• testimony