impost Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun money collected under a tariff
    custom; customs duty; customs.
  2. noun the lowest stone in an arch -- from which it springs
    springer.

WordNet

Im"post noun
Etymology
OF. impost, F. impot, LL. impostus, fr. L. impostus, p. p. of imponere to impose. See Impone.
Definitions
  1. That which is imposed or levied; a tax, tribute, or duty; especially, a duty or tax laid by goverment on goods imported into a country.
    Even the ship money . . . Johnson could not pronounce to have been an unconstitutional impost. Macaulay.
  2. (Arch.) The top member of a pillar, pier, wall, etc., upon which the weight of an arch rests. ✍ The impost is called continuous, if the moldings of the arch or architrave run down the jamb or pier without a break. Syn. -- Tribute; excise; custom; duty; tax.

Webster 1913