impose

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɪmˈpəʊz/, US /ɪmˈpoʊz/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English imposen, borrowed from Old French imposer (“to put, place, impute”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from im- and poser (“to put, place”) (see pose) to render Latin impōnō (“to place on, lay as a burden, deceive”).^[2][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To put an obligation on, to lay something to a person's account: about 1380, in Chaucer's Boethius, in Barnhart; the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To impute is an obsolete sense of 1484,^[7][6] and to apply with authority is from about 1500.^[3] To lay a tax or burden on, to inflict, is first recorded in 1581, probably from the Latin sense.^[2][3] The laying on of hands is from 1582,^[7] placing someone in office from 1617,^[7] and arranging pages of type in printing from 1652.^[7] To impose upon, to take advantage of or deceive, is from the 17th century.^[4] Imposing meant exacting in 1651 and impressive in 1786, after French imposant.^[2] In west Somerset an imposing tradesman was one who overcharged.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – to put an obligation on.^[2]
• 1484 – to impute (obsolete).^[7]
• 1581 – to levy, inflict.^[2]
• 1582 – to lay on hands.^[7]
• 1652 – to impose type (printing).^[7]
• 1786 – imposing, impressive.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To establish as compulsory; to levy: to impose a tax.
2. To apply or enforce by authority.
3. To force oneself or one's presence on others; to obtrude.
4. impose on or upon: to take unfair advantage of: to impose on someone's kindness.
5. (printing) To arrange pages so that they will be in the right order after printing and folding.

Word family

• imposer
• imposable
• self-imposed
• unimposed
• overimpose
• preimpose
• reimpose
• imposing

Related words

• imposition
• impost
• postpone
• propone
• propose
• reimposition
• impostor
• pose
• position
• impound

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)