Etymograph

English

impost

Impost comes from Latin impōsitus ‘imposed, put upon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō1‘place, put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpōnō2‘to impose’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpōsitus2‘imposed, put upon’past participle of impōnō
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impost2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1667impost2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin impono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English impost
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, Epilogue to the Wild Gallant, as It was First Acted: “’Tis a Land-tax, vvhich he’s too poor to pay;…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin impono‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin imponoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin impono‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinōWiktionary, Latin imponoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin impono‘place, put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpōnōWiktionary, English impost‘to impose’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpōsitusWiktionary, English impost‘imposed, put upon’past participle of impōnō
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impostWiktionary, English impost
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1667impostWiktionary, English impost. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, Epilogue to the Wild Gallant, as It was First Acted: “’Tis a Land-tax, vvhich he’s too poor to pay;…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’

homeless, suppose, compound, hamlet, bohemian, homely, hame, 51 more

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti

prepositional, apposite, 39 more

through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’

site, situation, composition, situate, supposition, preposition, positivism, situs, compostela, 41 more

through Proto-Italic *pozinō

opposition, proposition, exposition, deposition, disposition, suppository, presupposition, compositor, 26 more

through Latin pōnō ‘place, put’

position, positive, purpose, opposite, opponent, propose, consolation, expose, dispose, repository, posture, proponent, compose, exponent, compost, expound, posit, pone, presuppose, 52 more

Another origin of impost

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimposta
  2. Italianc. 1300–presentimposta‘tax, duty, customs’
  3. Englishtodayimpost

Today it means

noun A tax, tariff or duty that is imposed, especially on merchandise.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “impost”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin impono. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- / impost

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