impostor

Forms

impostor m (genitive impostōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a syncopated form, from Latin impositor, the agent noun of impōnō (“to place upon; to impose upon, deceive”).^[2][1][3] The TLL treats both in one article and notes that the form with ⟨st⟩ is used for the sense “deceiver” almost without exception.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ulpian, quoted in the Digest, names impostōrēs beside liars and quarrelsome people.^[5][4][6]

Semantic evolution

It is a post-Classical word for a cheat or charlatan.^[2][5] Christian writers used it often: Jerome, Rufinus, Paulinus of Nola and Salvian, who speaks of false Christians and impostōrēs.^[4] The Old Latin Bible uses it for sorcerers, and the Venerable Bede defines it as one who debases gold or silver with a cheaper metal.^[4]

Medieval Latin kept the sense of a deceiver or trickster, especially one who pretends to be someone else or claims a skill he lacks.^[7][8] French took it over as imposteur, the source of English impostor (1580s).^[9]

Timeline

• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it beside liars and quarrelsome people.^[5][4][6]
• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it for sorcerers in Deuteronomy.^[4][10][6]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it in his letters.^[5][3][6]
• early 5th century AD – The comedy Querolus has it.^[4][6]
• 1580s – English borrows it, through French, as impostor.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A deceiver, charlatan, cheat.^[2][5][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) One who pretends to be someone else, an impostor.^[8][7]

Related words

• impositor
• English impostor

Usage notes

It is also spelled inpostor.^[2][5] L&S compare it with planus² and sycophanta.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier