Etymograph

English

deposition

Deposition comes from Latin depositio ‘depositing, burying’, from pōnō ‘place, put’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō1‘place, put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēpōnō2‘deposit, depose’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdepositio3‘depositing, burying’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400deposicion3
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deposicion3‘Deposing or removal from office’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2023deposition3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin depono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin depositio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English deposition
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Stephen Roberts, Bradshaw's Britain: Alton to Exeter: “So, Andover featured in the Glorious Revolution, which involved…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin depono‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin deponoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin depono‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinōWiktionary, Latin deponoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin depono‘place, put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēpōnōWiktionary, Latin depositio‘deposit, depose’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdepositioWiktionary, English deposition‘depositing, burying’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400deposicionWiktionary, English deposition
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deposicionWiktionary, English deposition‘Deposing or removal from office’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2023depositionWiktionary, English deposition. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Stephen Roberts, Bradshaw's Britain: Alton to Exeter: “So, Andover featured in the Glorious Revolution, which involved…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’

homeless, suppose, compound, hamlet, impose, bohemian, homely, hame, 49 more

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti

apposite, prepositional, 38 more

through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’

site, situation, posture, situate, compostela, supposition, positivism, situs, preposition, 40 more

through Proto-Italic *pozinō

compost, suppository, impost, compositor, presupposition, 24 more

through Latin pōnō ‘place, put’

post, purpose, positive, opposite, opponent, propose, expose, opposition, composition, dispose, compose, proposition, proponent, repository, exposition, exponent, disposition, expound, imposition, posit, presuppose, pone, 48 more

through Latin dēpōnō ‘deposit, depose’

consolation, 4 more

Today it means

noun The removal of someone from office.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “deposition”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin depono, Latin depositio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- / deposition

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