'imposition' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'impositio', where 'im-' (a variant of 'in-') meant 'on' and 'ponere' meant 'to place'.

'imposition' changed from the Late Latin word 'impositio' and was used in Old French as 'imposition'; it entered Middle English largely unchanged and eventually became the modern English word 'imposition'.

Initially, it meant 'a placing on' (the act of placing something onto something else), but over time it evolved into its current meanings of 'a burden, duty, levy, or the act of imposing'.