impôt

Forms

impôt m (plural impôts)^[1] Middle French impost, also impos; the spelling impôt is recorded by Richelet in 1680.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin impositum (“that which is imposed”), the neuter past participle, used as a noun, of impōnō (“to place upon, to impose”).^[4][5][6][7] The borrowing was adapted to French on the model of dépôt.^[5][6][8] Wiktionary instead presents Old French impost as the source, a syncopated form of the Latin participle.^[1] The verb imposer belongs to the same Latin family.^[4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1399, as impost, for the share of public expenditure that the state laid on each subject.^[4][5][6] A 15th-century record speaks of impos et collectes imposed on the people.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Under the Ancien Régime the levy could be in kind (forced labour, the tithe) or in money (the aide, the poll tax, the salt tax, the taille).^[5] Littré notes that the word was once given only to temporary levies imposed for the needs of the state.^[2] In 1767 l'impôt is found for the whole of these charges, and in 1768 the economists distinguished impôts indirects from direct taxes.^[4][5]

Figuratively, from Lamennais (1817–1823), it means any contribution or obligation, and Balzac's l'impôt du sang (1842) is the duty of military service.^[4][5] In the 19th century the plural les impôts came to name the tax administration, as a synonym of fisc.^[5]

Timeline

• 1399 – First record, as impost.^[4][6]
• 1680 – Richelet records the spelling impôt.^[3]
• 1767 – Used for taxation as a whole.^[4][5]
• 1768 – Impôts indirects “indirect taxes” is recorded.^[4][5]
• 1817–1823 – Lamennais uses it figuratively for a burden or contribution.^[4]
• 1842 – Balzac's l'impôt du sang “military service”.^[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tax, a compulsory levy made by the state or local authorities to meet public expenses: impôt sur le revenu, “income tax”, impôts directs and impôts indirects.^[9][4][3][2]
2. L'impôt: taxation as a whole, the total sum levied: le vote de l'impôt.^[2][9]
3. (plural) The tax authorities: recevoir une lettre des impôts, “to get a letter from the tax office”.^[5]
4. (figurative) A burden or obligation one must bear: l'impôt du sang, military service.^[4][5]

Related words

• imposer
• imposition
• dépôt
• Latin impōnō

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final t is not pronounced in liaison in ordinary speech, while the s of the plural is: des impôts excessifs with /z/.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 597b
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert