Depositaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those to whom valuables, documents, or responsibilities are formally handed over for safekeeping
2. Trustees or custodians who hold property or records on behalf of others until they are reclaimed
3. Keepers or repositories that look after goods, money, or information entrusted to their care

Etymology: "Depositaries" is simply the plural of "depositary", so the history belongs to that singular form. The noun was borrowed from Late Latin "depositarius", a derivative of "depositum", the neuter past participle of "deponere", meaning "to put down, lay aside". The Latin root thus carries the sense of something set down in safekeeping, which is exactly what a depositary holds: a person or place entrusted with goods or money on someone else's behalf. The word's core idea therefore sits in the physical act of putting something down, then extended to the trust relationship that makes someone the keeper of what has been placed with them. English took the form directly from Late Latin rather than through French, which is why it looks so plainly Latinate.

Synonyms: depositories, custodians, trustees