Nearby Words

impostor

[im-pos-ter] Origin

im·pos·tor

[im-pos-ter]
noun
a person who practices deception under an assumed character, identity, or name.
Also, im·post·er.


Origin:
1580–90; < Late Latin, equivalent to Latin impos(i)-, variant stem of impōnere to deceive, place on (see impone) + -tor -tor
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Impostor is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Collins
World English Dictionary
impostor or imposter (ɪmˈpɒstə)
 
n
a person who deceives others, esp by assuming a false identity; charlatan
 
[C16: from Late Latin: deceiver; see impose]
 
imposter or imposter
 
n
 
[C16: from Late Latin: deceiver; see impose]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

impostor
1586, from M.Fr. imposteur, from L.L. impostorem (nom. impostor), agent noun from impostus, collateral form of impositus, pp. of imponere "place upon, impose upon, deceive," from in- "in" + ponere "to put place" (see position). Imposture "act of willfully deceiving others" first recorded 1537.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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