Added 9 October 2026
impose
/ɪmˈpəʊz/ verb
In Latin: impōnō, infligo Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about impose at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To physically lay or place (something) on another thing; to deposit, to put, to set. To lay or place (one's hands) on someone as a blessing, during rites of confirmation, ordination, etc. To lay (columns or pages of type, or printing plates) arranged in a proper order on the bed of a press or an imposing stone and secure them in a chase in preparation for printing. To apply, enforce, or establish (something, often regarded as burdensome as a restriction or tax: see verb sense 1.2.2) with authority.
Congress imposed new tariffs.
- To physically lay or place (something) on another thing; to deposit, to put, to set. To lay or place (one's hands) on someone as a blessing, during rites of confirmation, ordination, etc. To lay (columns or pages of type, or printing plates) arranged in a proper order on the bed of a press or an imposing stone and secure them in a chase in preparation for printing.
- To lay or place (one's hands) on someone as a blessing, during rites of confirmation, ordination, etc.
noun
- An act of placing or putting on something chiefly immaterial, especially something regarded as burdensome as a duty, a task, etc.; an imposition.
Origin
The verb is derived from Late Middle English imposen (“to place, set; to impose (a duty, etc.)”), borrowed from Middle French imposer, and Old French emposer, enposer (“to impose (a duty, tax, etc.)”) (modern French imposer), from im-, em- (variants of en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’)) + poser (“to place, put”), modelled after: * Latin impōnere (“to place or set (something) on; (figurative) to impose (a duty, tax, etc.)”), from im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘on, upon’)) + pōnō (“to place, put; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó, *h₂epó (“away; off”) + *tḱey- (“to cultivate; to live; to settle”)); and * Latin impositus (“established; put upon, imposed”), the perfect passiv.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)