A high-speed divided highway or expressway, especially in France and other European countries, often with toll fees.
From French autoroute, combining auto (automobile) + route (road). Coined in mid-20th century France during highway expansion. The term entered English from French infrastructure terminology.
When France built their modern highway system in the 1950s, they coined 'autoroute' for automobile routes, and now it's shorthand across Europe for 'fancy interstate highway'!
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