The Captain’s Log

Pontifications of The Great and Terrible Captain Cucamunga.

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 10:57:47 EST

Impostor

The noun impostor is Latin in origin and meant deceiver. In the 1580s, the meaning of impostor was cheat or swindler. By The 1620s, the current meanings of one who pretends to be someone else, and, one who pretends to have qualities it does not have had appeared.

An alternate spelling substitutes an e for the last o: imposter. The belief that the im– prefix negates the meaning of –postor is erroneous. Impost literally means put upon. Impostor means one who puts upon.