Where does “impost” come from?

Impost comes from Middle French impost, from Latin impositus, the past participle of impono, meaning to place upon, composed of the prefix in- and ponere, to place.

impost (English): A tax, tariff or duty that is imposed, especially...

Definitions

  1. A tax, tariff or duty that is imposed, especially...

Ancestry of “impost”, step by step

impost traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle French impost

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchimpost
2Latinimpōsitusimposed, put upon
3Latinimpōnōto place, lay, set, or put on, in, into, over, or upon
4Latinīn-un-, non-, not
5Latinînin, at, on, upon, from (space)
6Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
7Proto-Italicenin
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

via Italian imposta

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianimpostatax, duty, customs; shutter; feminine singular of...
2Latinimposta
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én