Deponency

Abstract

The terms ‘deponency’ and ‘deponents’ originally referred to a particular class of Latin verbs, which take passive (‘non‐active’) morphology but are syntactically active. The term has been extended to verbs in other languages with seemingly aberrant voice morphology, and eventually to other kinds of perceived mismatches between morphology and syntax. Deponency has therefore become a useful tool for testing assumptions regarding the lexicon–(morpho)syntax interface. This entry uses deponency in Latin as a case study for various issues and discusses the behaviour of Latin deponents in finite and non‐finite contexts, in primary and secondary verbs, and from various theoretical perspectives.