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Importance comes from Middle French importance, from Medieval Latin importantia, from importō ‘to bring in’, from portō ‘to carry’.

1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportō¹‘carry’
2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimporto²‘to bring’
3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500importantia³present active infinitive of importo
4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600importance³
5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500importaunce³
6. Englishearliest quotation 1895importance³

1. ¹ Wiktionary, Latin importo
2. ² Wiktionary, Latin importantia
3. ³ Wiktionary, English importance
4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1895, Kenneth Graham, The Golden Age: “It was incessant matter for amazement how these Olympians…”.