Definition of "deponent" [de•po•nent]

• Grammar Being a verb of active meaning but passive or middle form, as certain Latin and Greek verbs. (adjective)
• Grammar A deponent verb. (noun)
• Law One who testifies under oath, especially in writing. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The deponent was the policeman, and the sum of United States currency was one dollar."
• "CLINTON: Because that is -- if the deponent is the person who has oral sex performed on him, then the contact is with -- not with anything on that list, but with the lips of another person."
• "The contents of the paper was skilfully worded so as to convey the impression that the deponent was a woman of somewhat doubtful character herself, but that on the other hand she had been tricked by the defendant into a secret -- and what he intended to be a temporary -- marriage."