the.com/levy
The government's polite way of saying give me money or else.
means To impose or collect a tax, fee, or fine by official authority, or the tax/charge so imposed.
from From Old French 'levée' (a raising), from 'lever' meaning to raise, rooted in Latin 'levare' (to lift, to raise), from 'levis' meaning light in weight. The sense evolved from literally 'raising' troops or money — gathering it up and lifting it off you — into the modern bureaucratic act of imposing a tax. Same Latin root gives us 'lever' and 'alleviate,' which is darkly funny once you've paid one.
- origin
- from old french lever, meaning to raise
- not a tax
- technically narrower, usually tied to a specific purpose
- military sense
- once meant conscripting troops, not cash
- capital levy
- a one time grab on wealth, not income