Meaning
A fee paid for some liberty or privilege, particularly for the privilege of passing over a bridge or on a highway, or for that of vending goods in a fair, market, etc.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English toll, tol, tolle, from Old English toll m or n and toln f (“toll, duty, custom”), from Proto-West Germanic *toll, *tolnu, from Proto-Germanic *tullaz, *tullō (“that which is counted or told, reckoning”), from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“calculation, fraud”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tol (“toll”), Dutch tol (“toll”), German Zoll (“toll, duty, customs”), Danish told (“toll, duty, tariff”), Swedish tull (“toll, customs”), Icelandic tollur (“toll, customs”). More at tell, tale. Alternate etymology derives Old English toll from Medieval Latin tolōneum, tolōnium, alteration (due to the Germanic forms above) of Latin telōneum, from Ancient Greek τελώνιον (telṓnion, “toll-house”), from τέλος (télos, “tax”).
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 43 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-07-26OACHILT
- 2026-07-14TCILORV
- 2026-06-06OEILNTW
- 2026-05-30OAILNTV
- 2026-05-22OATHINL
- 2026-05-17LACDORT
- 2026-03-30TBELNOV
- 2026-02-24OCFILNT
- 2026-02-09TACIKLO
- 2026-01-29TEOHGLY
- 2025-12-21TOALCBK
- 2025-11-23LBTOMNE
+31 earlier appearances in the archive.