imposition | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

12 entries found.

late 14c., "a tax, duty, tribute," from Old French imposicion "tax, duty; a fixing" (early 14c.), from Latin impositionem (nominative impositio) "a laying on," noun of action from past participle stem of imponere "to place upon," from assimilated form of in "into, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + ponere "to put, place" (past participle positus; see position (n.)). Sense of "the act of putting (something) on (something else)" is from 1590s. Meaning "an act or instance of imposing" (on someone) first recorded 1630s, a noun of action from impose, which is unrelated to the earlier word.

humbuggery (n.)

"false pretense, imposition," by 1823, from humbug (q.v.) + -ery.

humbug (n.)

1751, student slang, "trick, jest, hoax, imposition, deception," of unknown origin. Also appearing as a verb at the same time, "deceive by false pretext" (trans.). A vogue word of the early 1750s; its origin was a subject of much whimsical speculation even then. "[A]s with other and more recent words of similar introduction, the facts as to its origin appear to have been lost, even before the word became common enough to excite attention" [OED]. Meaning "spirit of deception or imposition; hollowness, sham" is from 1825.

taxation (n.)

early 14c., "imposition of taxes," from Anglo-French taxacioun, Old French taxacion, from Latin taxationem (nominative taxatio) "a rating, valuing, appraisal," noun of action from past-participle stem of taxare "evaluate, estimate," also "censure, charge" (see tax (v.)).

gouge (n.)

mid-14c., "chisel with a concave blade," from Old French gouge "a gouge" (14c.), from Late Latin gubia, alteration of gulbia "hollow beveled chisel," probably from Gaulish (compare Old Irish gulban "prick, prickle," Welsh gylfin "beak"). Meaning "an imposition, a cheat" is from 1845, American English colloquial.

exaction (n.)

late 14c., exaccioun, "action of demanding payment; imposition, requisitioning" of taxes, etc., from Old French exaccion and directly from Latin exactionem (nominative exactio) "a driving out; supervision; exaction; a tax, tribute, impost," noun of action from past-participle stem of exigere (see exact (adj.)). Meaning "a tax, tribute, toll, fee," etc. is from mid-15c.

chouse (n.)

"swindler, impostor," c. 1600; also "one easily cheated" (1640s); "a swindle, trick, sham, imposition" (1708), an obsolete word said to be from Turkish chaush "sergeant, herald, messenger," but the sense connection is obscure. Century Dictionary says the Turkish word is via Arabic khawas from Hindi khawas "an attendant." Also used as a verb, "to cheat, swindle" (1650s).

canard (n.)

"absurd or fabricated story intended as an imposition," 1851, perhaps 1843, from French canard "a hoax," literally "a duck" (from Old French quanart, probably echoic of a duck's quack); said by Littré to be from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié "to half-sell a duck," thus, perhaps from some long-forgotten joke, "to cheat." But also compare quack (n.1).

Limburger (n.)

famously pungent type of cheese, 1870, short for Limburger cheese (1817), from Limburg, province in northeast Belgium, where the cheese is made. The place name is from Germanic *lindo "lime tree" (see linden) + *burg "fortification."

Some frauds a few years ago started a Limburger cheese factory down in Keyport, New Jersey, but the imposition was soon exposed. A man could come within 300 yards of the spurious article without being knocked down, and as the smell never had any effect on the town clock the business was soon discontinued. [John E. Boyd, "The Berkeley Heroine and Others Stories," 1899]

cark (v.)

"to be weighed down or oppresssed by cares or worries, be concerned about" (archaic), early 12c., a figurative use, via Anglo-French from Old North French carkier "to load, burden," from Late Latin carcare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "wagon" (see car). Compare Old North French carguer "charger," corresponding to Old French chargier. The literal sense in English, "to load, put a burden on," is from c. 1300. Related: Carked; carking.

Also as a noun in Middle English and after, "charge, responsibility; anxiety, worry; burden on the mind or spirit," (c. 1300), from Anglo-French karke, from Old North French form of Old French carche, variant of charge "load, burden, imposition" (source of charge (n.)).

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