Depositions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sworn statement provided by a witness before legal proceedings, often used to capture testimony for evidence
2. The act of formally documenting a witness's account under oath outside of court to aid in legal cases
3. Statements made under oath by witnesses, usually recorded outside court to preserve evidence ; the process of officially dismissing a person from a position or office

Etymology: The plural of "deposition," which comes from Latin "depositio," a noun from "deponere," meaning "to put down" or "lay aside," built from "de-" (down) and "ponere" (to place). Its legal senses, both the removal of an office-holder and the written sworn statement, grew from the idea of setting something down or laying it aside, so the dismissal sense may be the older of the two in English.

Synonyms: testimonies, affidavits, statements, declarations, sworn statements