imposuit

Imposuit is the third-person singular perfect active indicative form of the Latin verb imponere, meaning to place upon, to impose, or to lay on. In this tense and voice, it refers to a completed action by a single subject, equivalent to “he imposed” or “she imposed” in English. The core meaning centers on placing something onto or upon someone or something, such as laws, burdens, or taxes.

The verb imponere is formed from the prefix in- (upon) and ponere (to place). The perfect active stem is imposu- with the long, contracted ending -it for the third person singular, yielding imposuit. The participial passive form is impositus, used in compound constructions and as an adjective meaning “placed, imposed.”

In Latin prose, imposuit is commonly used in political, legal, or administrative contexts. The thing imposed is typically the direct object in the accusative, while the recipient or affected party is rendered in the dative or with a prepositional phrase. For example: Senatus leges populo imposuit, meaning “The Senate imposed laws on the people.” Caesar populo tributum imposuit translates as “Caesar imposed a tax on the people.” The form highlights completed actions, such as enactment of laws, levying of taxes, or burdens placed on subjects.

See also: imponere, impositus, imposed in other contexts; Latin grammar of the perfect indicative; related English cognates such as impose and impression.