octroi

American  

[ok-troi, awk-trwa] / ˈɒk trɔɪ, ɔkˈtrwa /

noun

plural

octrois

1. (formerly especially in France and Italy) a local tax levied on certain articles, such as foodstuffs, on their entry into a city.

2. the place at which such a tax is collected.

3. the officials collecting it.

4. the act of a sovereign in granting to subjects a constitution or other charter.

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octroi British  

/ ˈɒktrwɑː /

noun

1. (in some European countries, esp France) a duty on various goods brought into certain towns or cities

2. the place where such a duty is collected

3. the officers responsible for its collection

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Etymology

Origin of octroi

1605–15; < French, noun derivative of octroyer to grant, partial Latinization of Old French otreier < Medieval Latin auctorizāre; see authorize

Example Sentences

Octroi duties The various dues, miksu, seem to have been a sort of octroi duty.

From Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters by Johns, C. H. W. (Claude Hermann Walter)

Italy goes still further with her tobacco monopoly, house tax, income tax, salt tax, octroi duties, stamp taxes, and heavy legacy and registration taxes.

From The Greater Republic A History of the United States by Morris, Charles

And then, more attentive to the details about her, she remembered the octroi when she had entered Paris from Bernay-sur-Mer.

From The Belovéd Traitor by Packard, Frank L. (Frank Lucius)

We were not informed, and when the octroi officials had measured our tank they charged us something like four dollars on its contents.

From The Car That Went Abroad Motoring Through the Golden Age by Paine, Albert Bigelow

The octroi regulations had just been revised, and the gates were open to passing traffic without the obligation of having to declare one's possessions.

From The Automobilist Abroad by Mansfield, M. F. (Milburg Francisco)