這兩個(gè)單詞的含義有些混淆。美國(guó)《布萊克法律詞典》“Black's Law Dictionary”（第6版）專門告誡讀者不能將兩詞用錯(cuò)，該詞典說(shuō)前者是指人或機(jī)構(gòu)，及受托人或公司等；而后者專指地方，即存放處，儲(chǔ)存地，且說(shuō)在美國(guó)其專指經(jīng)挑選和指定銀行[1]。但其他許多文獻(xiàn)及法律詞典，包括許多英文詞典卻視兩詞可以互換[2]。如Black's Law Dictionary (第6版）中的 depository bank 在其第 7 版版本以及 Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Law 中便成了 depositary bank。本書(shū)編者認(rèn)為 depositary 和 depository 雖為一個(gè)詞的兩種不同拼寫， 且兩者也可互換，但在指“受托人”或“受托機(jī)構(gòu)”時(shí)，可遵循《布萊克法律詞典》的說(shuō)法，將depositary作為首選詞。相反，在指“寄存地”或“保存地”時(shí)，可將depository作為首選。
 
[1]“One with whom anything is lodged in trust, as depository is the place where it is put. . . Depositary should not be confused with depository which is the physical place of deposit. ”Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 302，West Publishing Co. (1991).
[2] Cf. Daphne Dukelow, The Dictionary of Canadian Law, at pp. 272 ~273, Thomson Professional Publishing Canada (1991 ). Cf. Linda Picard Wood, J. D.，Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Law, at p. 134, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (1996).