Depose wrestled its way to the top of our lookups on March 28th, 2018, following news reports that Michael Avenatti, lawyer to Stormy Daniels, had filed a motion in federal court which sought to depose both President Donald Trump and attorney Michael Cohen.
JUST IN: Stormy Daniels' lawyer files motion in California court seeking to depose President Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 28, 2018
The word is often encountered today in specific legal contexts, and may carry the meaning either of “to testify to under oath or by sworn affidavit” or “to take testimony from especially by deposition.” However, these are not the only meanings that depose has had since it was introduced into English in the 14th century. The initial meaning of the word was “to remove from a throne or other high position; divest or deprive of office or rank,” and it comes from the Late Latin deponere (“to put down”).
In the whiche pastyme he sente into dyuers places of Fraunce sondry accusacyons of the duke before slayne, that he entended to depose the kyng, and to take vpon hym the rule & gouernaunce of the realme, and to haue poysoned the sayd kyng, as by dyuers tokens by hym affermed for perfourmaunce of the same.
— Robert Fabyan, Fabyans Cronycle, 1533
