Etymologically
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dépôt

Etymology and origin of the French word dépôt

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1323, depost
Ultimate origin
Latin (dēpōnō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French dépôt
English depot

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.po/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [de.po][1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [di.po][1]

Forms

dépôt m (plural dépôts)[1] Depost (1323), dépôt from the 17th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from legal Latin dēpositum (“deposit, consignment”),[2][4][5][6][7] the neuter past participle used as a noun of Latin dēpōnere (“to put down, lay aside”), from “dē-” and Latin pōnere (“to put”).[6][8] Compare Old Occitan deposit, Spanish depósito and Italian deposito.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of 1323 has recevoir en depost, and avoir en depost (before 1325) translates Latin in depositum habere.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It entered many legal phrases, the latest being dépôt légal and dépôt de bilan (late 18th century).[4] From the 14th century it was the noun of action of déposer and, by metonymy, the thing deposited (Oresme, 1370: Se un rent à l'autre son gage ou son depost), then the public place where things are left (Furetière, 1690), with military and transport uses, and a temporary lock-up (1814).[2][4][8] From the late 17th century it was also a deposit settling at the bottom of a liquid or vessel (Thomas Corneille, 1694), in geology, physics and medicine.[2][4][3] English depot was borrowed in 1795.[9] Louisiana French uses it for a wharf or a railway station.[1]

Timeline

  • 1323 – Recevoir en depost.[2]
  • 1370 – The act; the thing deposited, in Oresme.[2]
  • 1690 – A public depot, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1694 – A sediment, in Thomas Corneille.[2]
  • Late 18th century – Dépôt légal, dépôt de bilan.[4]
  • 1795 – English depot.[9]
  • 1814 – A police lock-up.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Depositing, leaving: le dépôt d'une gerbe, dépôt d'un testament chez le notaire.[10][11]
  2. A deposit (of money, valuables): faire un dépôt, dépôt bancaire.[10][1]
  3. A depot, warehouse, store: dépôt de bus, dépôt d'ordures.[1][11]
  4. A deposit, sediment: un dépôt calcaire.[1][3]
  5. (law) Filing: dépôt de plainte, dépôt légal, dépôt de bilan: filing for bankruptcy.[1][10]
  6. A police lock-up.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 45a
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Dépôt.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9p%C3%B4t. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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