It's the Word of the Day podcast for June 12th.

Today's word is impute, spelled I-M-P-U-T-E.

Impute is a verb. To impute something, such as a motive, act, or emotion to a person or thing is to

assert that the person or thing is guilty of that motive, act, or emotion. Here's the word used in a

sentence from the LA Times. California is about to ease into the 2026 race for governor, and if you can pick any of the current candidates

from a police lineup, either you work in Sacramento, have an unhealthy obsession with state

politics, or both. That's not to impute criminality on the part of any of those running, to

succeed the term limited Gavin Newsom. Rather, those bidding to become California's

41st governor aren't exactly a collection of name in lights celebrities. The word impute is a

formal one, typically used in contexts in which a motive act or emotion is credited or ascribed to someone, especially falsely or unfairly.

For example, if you impute dishonesty to someone, you're asserting that they're not telling the

truth. And if you impute selfish motives to someone's actions, you're asserting that they

were motivated by selfishness. In the form imputed, the word is often

paired with the word income. Imputed income is income calculated from the supposed value of

intangible or non-cash sources, such as use of a company car or an employee discount.

What's the connection between these meanings?

Both involve considering someone or something in a particular way, tying each meaning to the

words Latin ancestor, Putare means to consider.

With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokoloski.

Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.