imposta

Forms

imposta f (plural imposte)^[1] An old spelling is inpòsta.^[2]

Etymology

The word for the tax is learned: it is borrowed from Latin imposita (“imposed, laid on”), the feminine of the past participle of impōnō (“to place on, impose”).^[3][4][5] DELI keeps the tax and the shutter under one word, from the participle impositum of the verb behind imporre: the tax is “laid on” goods or persons, and the leaf of a shutter is “placed over” the window.^[6] Wiktionary takes the tax to be perhaps a borrowing, at least in its sense, comparing French impôt;^[1][7] DEI derives it from the Italian participle imposto and gives impost as the French form of 1399.^[1][7]

The word for the shutter is from Italian imposto, the past participle of the same verb;^[3][8][9] Sabatini–Coletti explains it by the leaf being “placed on” its hinges.^[10] Nocentini and GRADIT number the shutter and the tax separately: Nocentini puts the shutter first, GRADIT the tax.^[3][9]

Latin impōnō is formed from in- (“on, in”) and pōnō (“to put down, place”).^[3][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in DELI is the tax, “the share of wealth that each person owes the state for the needs of the community”, before 1292 in Giamboni.^[6] Another early sense, now lost, was “command, injunction”: Guittone writes that he gladly obeys l'enposta vostra, “your command”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In architecture imposta has named, since Filarete in 1464, the level of a wall or pier from which an arch or a vault springs;^[6][12][7] French borrowed it as imposte in this sense in 1545, and Spanish has imposta.^[6][12][7] The shutter, each of the two hinged leaves that close a window, is first recorded in Vasari, before 1574;^[6][12] French took this sense too, in 1828.^[6][12] In Tuscany imposta was also the business put before a guild assembly, in phrases such as mettere all'imposta, “to put on the agenda”.^[2]

The tax grew into a technical term: imposte dirette and indirette (direct and indirect taxes) are recorded in 1797.^[6] Treccani and Zingarelli separate it from tassa: an imposta pays for services of the whole community, with no particular service given in return.^[13][4]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Giamboni uses imposta for a tax.^[6]
• 1399 – French impost is recorded, according to DEI.^[7]
• 1464 – Filarete uses imposta for the springing level of an arch.^[6][12]
• 1545 – French imposte is recorded in the architectural sense.^[12]
• Before 1574 – Vasari uses imposta for a window shutter.^[6]
• 1797 – Imposte dirette e indirette appear in the Giornale rivoluzionario.^[6]
• 1828 – French imposte is recorded for a panel of a door or window.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (finance) A tax: money that citizens must pay to the state or a public body in proportion to their income or wealth, to fund public spending, with no specific service in return; also the amount paid: l'imposta sul reddito.^[9][8][13]
2. A shutter: either of the two leaves, hinged or sliding, that close a window or door and keep out the light: spalancare le imposte.^[9][8][10]
3. (dated) The leaf of a door.^[9][13]
4. (architecture) The impost: the surface on which an arch or vault rests on its support.^[9][8][13]
5. (obsolete) An order, a command.^[4][5][2]

Word family

• sovrimposta
• impostame

Related words

• imponibile
• imporre
• imposizione
• Latin impōnō
• French impôt

Usage notes

The tax may be pronounced with an open or a closed o (/imˈpɔs.ta/, /imˈpos.ta/); the shutter has the open vowel.^[1][13] Common phrases are imposta diretta, imposta indiretta and imposta sul valore aggiunto (value-added tax, IVA).^[13][5] Imposta is also the feminine of imposto, the past participle of imporre.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1966
8. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c d e f g Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)