imposte

Forms

imposte f (plural impostes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian imposta,^[2][3][4][5] the noun use of the feminine of imposto (“placed on”), past participle of imporre (“to put on”),^[2][3][6] from Latin impōnō (“to place on”), whose past participle was impositus.^[2][6][4] The Italian word was used in architecture from about 1465 (Filarete) and for the top part of a door or window opening before 1574 (Vasari).^[2][3] Littré derived the French word straight from that Latin participle, which he also gives as impostus.^[7] Meyer-Lübke lists the Italian word among the derivatives of the Latin verb, with the borrowings in French and Spanish.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Van Aelst's translation of Vitruvius's Architecture (1545) uses it as an architectural term for the projecting stone on which an arch rests.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

French took over the two senses of the Italian word one after the other: the architectural sense in 1545, and the joiner's sense, the upper part of a door or window frame above the opening leaves, in the 19th century (1828 in Mozin and Biber, 1829 in Boiste).^[2][3][6] Littré gives both, the last stone of a pier or doorpost on which the arch begins, and the fixed woodwork above the moving part of a door or casement.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1465 – Italian imposta is used in architecture by Filarete.^[2][3]
• 1545 – First French record, in Van Aelst's Vitruvius.^[2][3][4]
• 1828 – Mozin and Biber record the joinery sense.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (architecture) An impost, the projecting stone or moulding at the top of a pier or doorpost on which an arch rests.^[9][10][2]
2. (joinery) A transom window, the fixed or opening frame, often glazed, above a door or window: on a remplacé l’imposte vitrée de l’entrée.^{[9][11][10][1]}

Related words

• imposer
• impôt
• Italian imposta
• Latin impōnō

Usage notes

The word is feminine: une imposte.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)