E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Exci’se (2 syl.)
means literally, a coupon, or piece cut off (Latin, exci’do). It is a toll or duty levied on articles of home consumption—a slice cut off from these things for the national purse.
1
“Taxes on commodities are either on production within the country, or on importation into it, or on conveyance or sale within it; and are classed respectively as excise, customs, or tolls.”—Mill: Political Economy, book v. chap. iii. p. 562.
