Etymograph

English

repository

Repository comes from Latin repositōrium ‘something on which something else is placed’, from repōnō ‘to store, reserve’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to build, cultivate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to build, cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sinō2‘to put in place’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō3‘put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErepōnō4‘to store, reserve’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErepositōrium5‘something on which something else is placed’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reposytorye5
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1982repository5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sino
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pono
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin repono
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin repositorium
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English repository
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, Statuary Limitations: “Harvard has declined to become the repository of George…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin sino‘to build, cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin sinoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin sino‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sinōWiktionary, Latin pono‘to put in place’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin repono‘put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErepōnōWiktionary, Latin repositorium‘to store, reserve’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErepositōriumWiktionary, English repository‘something on which something else is placed’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reposytoryeWiktionary, English repository
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1982repositoryWiktionary, English repository. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, Statuary Limitations: “Harvard has declined to become the repository of George…”

Linked words

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

homeless, suppose, compound, hamlet, impose, bohemian, 50 more

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

opposition, proposition, exposition, disposition, compost, deposition, imposition, 43 more

through Latin *sinō ‘to put in place’

site, situation, composition, posture, 21 more

through Latin pōnō ‘put’

post, position, purpose, positive, opponent, opposite, propose, expose, consolation, dispose, compose, proponent, 59 more

Another origin of repository

  1. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreposit-
  2. Englishtodayrepository

Today it means

noun A location for storage, often for safety or preservation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “repository”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin sino, Latin pono, Latin repono, Latin repositorium. 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- / repository

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