Etymologically
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import

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪm.pɔːt/, /ˈɪm.pɔɹt/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English importen, borrowed from Latin importāre (“to bring in, convey; in Medieval Latin to imply, mean”),[2][3][4] from in-, into, and portāre (“to carry”) (see port),[2][3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to lead, pass over”).[3] The trade sense was influenced by Middle French importer.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To convey information, signify: probably before 1425 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To bring in from an outside source is first recorded in Skelton's Phyllyp Sparowe (1508),[2][6] and to bring in goods from a foreign country from 1548 (the 1540s).[2][6][3][7] To imply or mean is from about 1529–33, in Sir Thomas More,[2][6] and to be important from the 1580s.[3] The noun, consequence, importance, is from the 1580s,[3][5] and that which is imported from the 1680s (17th century in Hoad).[3][5] To transfer a file between programs is a computing sense.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – to signify.[2]
  • 1508 – to bring in.[2]
  • 1548 – to bring in goods.[2]
  • 1580s – importance (noun).[3]
  • 1680s – something imported.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To bring in goods or services from a foreign country for sale.
  2. To bring in from an outside source: to import foreign words.
  3. (computing) To transfer data or a file from one program or system to another.
  4. (formal) To mean or signify.

Noun

  1. Something imported, or the business of importing.
  2. (formal) Meaning or significance: a matter of great import.

Word family

  • importability
  • importable
  • importer
  • nonimport
  • reimport
  • unimported
  • unimporting
  • importee

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin