Etymologically

depositarius

Etymology and origin of the Latin word depositarius

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Ulpian
Ultimate origin
Latin (dēpositum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin depositum
English deposit
Latin depositarius

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [deː.pɔ.sɪˈtaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [de.po.s̬iˈtaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

dēpositārius m (genitive dēpositāriī or dēpositārī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dēpositum (“deposit”) + -ārius, from dēpōnō “to put down, deposit”.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot cites Ulpian in the Digest, and Köbler lists inscriptions.[5][6] Köbler dates Ulpian before 223 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

A legal word, it meant one who receives a deposit, a trustee, depositary, and in Ulpian also one who makes a deposit.[4][5]

British Medieval Latin used it for a depositary or bursar, and the neuter as a noun for a depository.[7] It survives as Italian and Spanish depositario.[1]

Timeline

  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it.[5][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A depositary, trustee of a deposit.[4][5]
  2. One who makes a deposit.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A bursar.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Depositarius.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/depositarius. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·