A fee you pay to use a road, bridge, or other service. It also means the number of people killed or hurt in an event, or the slow, repeated sound of a large bell.
The 'fee' sense comes from Old English 'toll' meaning 'tax, duty,' from Proto‑Germanic *'tulą' (something counted), related to 'tale' and 'tell.' The 'bell sound' sense is from a different Middle English verb 'tollen' meaning 'to ring a bell slowly,' possibly imitative. These two meanings come from different roots that converged in spelling.
Try Another Word