DEPRECATORY, or DEPRECATIVE, in theology, a term applied to the manner of performing some ceremonies in the form of prayer.
The form of absolution is deprecative in the Greek church, being conceived in these terms, May God absolve you; whereas it is in the declarative form in the Latin church, and in some of the reformed churches, I absolve you.
DEPRESSION of the POLE. When a person sails or travels towards the equator, he is said to depress the pole; because as many degrees as he approaches nearer the equator, so many degrees will the pole be nearer the horizon. This phenomenon arises from the spherical figure of the earth.