deposition

[dep-uh-zish-uh n, dee-puh-] /ˌdɛp əˈzɪʃ ən, ˌdi pə-/
noun
1.
removal from an office or position.
2.
the act or process of depositing:
deposition of the documents with the Library of Congress.
3.
the state of being deposited or precipitated:
deposition of soil at the mouth of a river.
4.
something that is deposited.
5.
Law.
  1. the giving of testimony under oath.
  2. the testimony so given.
  3. a statement under oath, taken down in writing, to be used in court in place of the spoken testimony of the witness.
6.
Ecclesiastical.
  1. the interment of the body of a saint.
  2. the reinterment of the body or the relics of a saint.
7.
(initial capital letter) a work of art depicting Christ being lowered from the Cross.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin dēpositiōn- (stem of dēpositiō) a putting aside, testimony, burial, equivalent to Latin dēposit(us) laid down (see deposit) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
depositional, adjective
postdepositional, adjective
Examples from the web for deposition
  • Other ongoing threats include acid rain deposition and air pollution.
  • This topographic pattern arises from a spatial pattern of deposition and erosion on the sand surface.
  • Thus there are four zones of erosion and deposition approximately parallel with the shore.
  • The deposition was in its fifth grueling hour.
  • Those are the questions the lawyers will be asking you when, if you say something, your deposition inevitably will be taken.
  • My friend had to attend a deposition related to this lawsuit.
  • The current project focuses on deposition of thin films of silicon containing materials by atomic layer deposition.
  • Part of the effect of vegetated floodplains was to cause the deposition of silt and clay in the alluvium valleys.
  • Word every email sent from your official account as you would word an answer in a deposition.
  • Sediment deposition and decaying plant matter can help raise a wetland's elevation, he said.
British Dictionary definitions for deposition

deposition

/ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən; ˌdiːpə-/
noun
1.
(law)
  1. the giving of testimony on oath
  2. the testimony so given
  3. the sworn statement of a witness used in court in his absence
2.
the act or instance of deposing
3.
the act or an instance of depositing
4.
something that is deposited; deposit
Word Origin
C14: from Late Latin dēpositiō a laying down, disposal, burying, testimony

Deposition

/ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən; ˌdiːpə-/
noun
1.
the taking down of Christ's body from the Cross or a representation of this
Word Origin and History for deposition
n.

late 14c., "dethronement, putting down from dignity or authority," from Old French deposicion (12c.), from Latin depositionem (nominative depositio), noun of action from past participle stem of deponere (see deposit (v.)).

Meaning "statements made in court under oath" is from early 15c. Meaning "action of depositing" is from 1590s. Properly, deposition belongs to deposit, but deposit and depose have become totally confused and English deposition partakes of senses belonging to both.

deposition in Science
deposition
  (děp'ə-zĭsh'ən)   

  1. The accumulation or laying down of matter by a natural process, as the laying down of sediments in a river or the accumulation of mineral deposits in a bodily organ.

  2. The process of changing from a gas to a solid without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. Carbon dioxide, at a pressure of one atmosphere, undergoes deposition at about -78 degrees Celsius. Compare sublimation.