depositum

Forms

dēpositum n (genitive dēpositī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of dēpositus, the past participle of dēpōnō “to put down, deposit”.^[2][1][3] Isidore defines it as a pledge entrusted for a time, as if ⟨diū positum⟩ “placed for long”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot's earliest citations are from Cicero, of returning a deposit.^[5] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant money or goods placed in another's keeping, a deposit, trust, as Cicero's reddere dēpositum “to return a deposit”.^[2][5] In Quintilian it meant the contract governing a deposit, dēpositī agere to sue for breach of trust.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a deposit, security.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for a church treasure and a temporary commission.^[8] French dépôt comes from it, and English deposit came in the 1620s, first “a pledge”.^[6][3]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a deposit.^[5][6]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a breach of trust.^[2][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore defines it.^[4][6]
• 1620s – English deposit is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A deposit, trust.^[2]
2. A contract of deposit, dēpositī agere, to sue for breach of trust.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A church treasure.^[8]

Word family

• dēpositārius

Related words

• dēpōnō
• English deposit
• English depot

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill