depose

Meanings

1. To put down; to lay down; to deposit; to lay aside; to put away.
2. To remove (a leader) from (high) office without killing (them).
3. To give evidence or testimony, especially in response to interrogation during a deposition.
4. To interrogate and elicit testimony from during a deposition, typically by a lawyer.
5. To take or swear an oath.
6. To testify; to bear witness; to claim; to assert; to affirm.

Etymology

Recorded since c.1300, from Middle English, from Old French deposer, from de- (“down”) + poser (“to put, place”). Deposition (1494 in the legal sense) belongs to deposit, but that related word and depose became thoroughly confused.