depute v.

active word-forming element in English and in many verbs inherited from French and Latin, from Latin de "down, down from, from, off; concerning" (see de), also used as a prefix in Latin, usually meaning "down, off, away, from among, down from," but also "down to the bottom, totally" hence "completely" (intensive or completive), which is its sense in many English words.

As a Latin prefix it also had the function of undoing or reversing a verb's action, and hence it came to be used as a pure privative — "not, do the opposite of, undo" — which is its primary function as a living prefix in English, as in defrost (1895), defuse (1943), de-escalate (1964), etc. In some cases, a reduced form of dis-.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut, strike, stamp."

It forms all or part of: account; amputate; amputation; anapest; berate; compute; count (v.); depute; deputy; dispute; impute; pave; pavement; pit (n.1) "hole, cavity;" putative; rate (v.1) "to scold;" reputation; repute.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin pavire "to beat, ram, tread down," putare "to prune;" Greek paiein "to strike;" Lithuanian pjauti "to cut," pjūklas "saw."

late 14c., deputacioun, "appointment or authority to represent or act for another or others," noun of action from depute (v.). From 1732 as "person or persons authorized to represent or act for others."