toll
1 (tōl)
[Middle English, from Old English, variant of toln, from Medieval Latin tolōnīum, from Latin telōnēum, tollbooth, from Greek telōneion, from telōnēs, tax collector, from telos, tax.]
noun
- A fixed charge or tax for a privilege, especially for passage across a bridge or along a road.
- A charge for a service, such as a long-distance telephone call.
- An amount or extent of loss or destruction, as of life, health, or property: “Poverty and inadequate health care take their toll on the quality of a community's health” (Los Angeles Times)
transitive verb: tolled, toll·ing, tolls.
- To exact as a toll.
- To charge a fee for using (a structure, such as a bridge).
toll
2 (tōl)
[Middle English tollen, to ring an alarm, perhaps from tollen, to entice, pull, variant of tillen, from Old English -tyllan.]
verb: tolled, toll·ing, tolls.
transitive verb
- To sound (a large bell) slowly at regular intervals.
- To announce or summon by tolling.
intransitive verb
- To sound in slowly repeated single tones.
noun
- The act of tolling.
- The sound of a bell being struck.