Deponent (classical languages)

In Latin and Greek linguistics, a deponent is a verb with middle or passive inflection, but ordinary ("active") meaning.

Examples

Latin loquor 'I speak', Clasical Greek érkhomai 'I come'.

Polysemy

The term deponent has been generalized, to refer to any situation where a morphological marker has the "wrong" function; see deponency.

Origin

According to the OED, deponent is first attested in English in 1528. Latin deponens means 'laying down', the idea being that deponents have laid aside their passive meaning, or their active forms.

Other languages

German Deponens

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