toll1
/
təʊl/
n.
- a charge payable to use a bridge or road.
▸N. Amer. a charge for a long-distance telephone call.
- the number of deaths or casualties arising from an accident, disaster, etc.
- an adverse effect.
v.
[
usu. as noun tolling]
charge a toll for the use of (a bridge or road).
Phrase
- take its toll
(or take a heavy toll)
have an adverse effect.
Etymology
OE, from med. L. toloneum, alt. of late L. teloneum, from Gk telōnion ‘toll house’, from telos ‘tax’.
toll2
/
təʊl/
v.
(with reference to a bell) sound or cause to sound with a slow, uniform succession of strokes.
▸(of a bell) announce (the time, a service, or a person's death) in this way.
n.
a single ring of a bell.
Etymology
ME: prob. a special use of dial. toll ‘drag, pull’.