impose

English Online Dictionary. What means impose‎? What does impose mean?

English

Etymology

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, the present active infinitive of impōnō (“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 passive participle of impōnō: see above.

The noun is derived from the verb.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpəʊz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpoʊz/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpəʉz/
• Rhymes: -əʊz
• Hyphenation: im‧pose

Verb

impose (third-person singular simple present imposes, present participle imposing, simple past and past participle imposed)

1. (transitive)
   1. (archaic) To physically lay or place (something) on another thing; to deposit, to put, to set.
      1. (Christianity) To lay or place (one's hands) on someone as a blessing, during rites of confirmation, ordination, etc.
      2. (printing) 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.
   2. (figurative)
      1. To apply, enforce, or establish (something, often regarded as burdensome as a restriction or tax: see sense 1.2.2) with authority.
      3. To place or put (something chiefly immaterial, especially something regarded as burdensome as a duty, an encumbrance, a penalty, etc.) on another thing or on someone; to inflict, to repose; also, to place or put (on someone a chiefly immaterial thing, especially something regarded as burdensome).
      4. To force or put (a thing) on someone or something by deceit or stealth; to foist, to obtrude.
      5. (UK, school or university slang) To subject (a student) to imposition (“a task inflicted as punishment”).
      6. (archaic or obsolete) To appoint (someone) to be in authority or command over other people.
      7. (obsolete) To accuse someone of (a crime, or a sin or other wrongdoing); to charge, to impute.
      8. (obsolete) To put (a conclusion or end) to something definitively.
2. (intransitive) Chiefly followed by on or upon.
   1. To affect authoritatively or forcefully; to influence strongly.
   2. To encroach or intrude, especially in a manner regarded as unfair or unwarranted; to presume, to take advantage of; also, to be a burden or inconvenience.
   3. To practise deceit or stealth; to cheat, to deceive, to trick.
   4. (obsolete) To subject to an impost, levy, tax, etc.

Conjugation

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

impose (plural imposes)

1. (obsolete) An act of placing or putting on something chiefly immaterial, especially something regarded as burdensome as a duty, a task, etc.; an imposition.

References

Further reading

• imposition (printing) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• impositions (tax) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• laying on of hands on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “impose”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “impose”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “impose”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• mopies, pomeis

French

Pronunciation

Verb

impose

1. inflection of imposer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Verb

impose

1. third-person singular past historic of imporre