deponere

Deponere is a Latin verb meaning to lay down, put aside, or deposit. It also extends to figurative senses such as removing someone from office or giving sworn testimony (to depose). The word comes from the prefix de- “down” plus ponere “to place.” It is a regular verb of the third conjugation.

Principal parts and forms: deponō, deponere, deposuī, depositum. As a regular third-conjugation verb, its present active indicative forms are deponō, deponis, deponit, deponimus, deponitis, deponunt; the imperfect and future follow standard third-conjugation patterns. The perfect active is deposuī and the supine is depositum. The passive forms exist as deponor, deponeris, deponitur, deponimur, deponimini, deponentur.

Common meanings and usage: physically laying something down (deponere arma, to lay down one’s arms); depositing or placing something somewhere (deponere pecuniam in rogum, to deposit money in a chest); removing from office (deponere regem, to depose a king); and in a legal or testimonial sense, to depose a witness or testify under oath (deponere testem). In classical Latin, the exact construction depends on the sense, often with direct objects in the accusative or related complement phrases.

English connections: the verb yields to English depose (to remove from office or to swear in testimony) and deposition (a sworn statement). The Latin noun depositum and related terms also feed English vocabulary, including deposit, deposition, and depositary. In Latin grammar, deponere is not a deponent verb; the term deponent refers to a distinct class of verbs whose meanings are active despite passive forms.