Impositor

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A school official who assigns lines or extra exercises as punishment ; a worker who arranges printed pages of type into the correct layout before printing
2. One who gives out set writing tasks as a penalty at a school ; a printing worker who lays out type pages in the right order for the press
3. A person who imposes extra lessons as a disciplinary measure ; a craftsman who positions metal type into page forms ready for printing

Etymology: Schoolmasters once set "impositions," extra tasks such as copying out a passage as punishment. The pupil who handed these out on the master's behalf was called an impositor, a title used in certain English schools. The root is the verb "impose," from Latin "imponere," meaning "to place upon," built from "in" (on) and "ponere" (to put). Adding the agent ending "-or," which marks one who performs an action, gives a person who places the burden on someone else.

Synonyms: imposer