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   deponent

   /dɪˈpəʊnənt/

   adjective

   • 1. (of a verb, especially in Latin or Greek) passive or middle in form but active in meaning.

   noun

   • 1. a deponent verb.
   • 2. a person who makes a deposition or affidavit under oath.

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin deponent- ‘laying aside, putting down’ (in medieval Latin ‘testifying’), from the verb deponere, from de- ‘down’ + ponere ‘place’. The use in grammar arose from the notion that the verb had ‘laid aside’ the passive sense (although in fact these verbs were originally reflexive).

   Derivatives

   • 1. deponency noun

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • D

     2

   • E

     1

   • P

     3

   • O

     1

   • N

     1

   • E

     1

   • N

     1

   • T

     1

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