Link Centre Dictionary

load

UK/ləʊd/ US/loʊd/ common slang
noun (9) verb (3)

noun

1.

weight to be borne or conveyed

Synonyms
2.

a quantity that can be processed or transported at one time

  • “the system broke down under excessive loads”
Synonyms
3.
4.

an amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicate

  • “he got a load on and started a brawl”
5.

the power output of a generator or power plant

6.

an onerous or difficult concern

  • “the burden of responsibility”
  • “that”
Synonyms
7.

a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks

Synonyms
8.

the front part of a guided missile or rocket or torpedo that carries the nuclear or explosive charge or the chemical or biological agents

Synonyms
9.

electrical device to which electrical power is delivered

verb

1.

fill or place a load on

  • “load a car”
  • “load the truck with hay”
Synonyms
2.

provide with munition

  • “He loaded his gun carefully”
Synonyms
3.

put (something) on a structure or conveyance

  • “load the bags onto the trucks”

Origin

The sense of “burden” first arose in the 13th century as a secondary meaning of Middle English lode, loade, which had the main significance of “way, course, journey”, from Old English lād (“course, journey; way, street, waterway; leading, carrying; maintenance, support”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *laidō (“leading, way”), Proto-Indo-European *leyt- (“to go, go forth, die”). Cognate with Middle Low German leide (“entourage, escort”), German Leite (“line, course, load”), Swedish led (“way, trail, line”), Icelandic leið (“way, course, route”). As such, load is a doublet of lode, which has preserved the older meaning. Most likely, the semantic extension of the Middle English substantive arose by conflation with the (etymologically unrelated) verb lade; however, Middle English lode occurs only as a substantive; the transitive verb load (“to charge with a load”) is recorded only in the 16th century (frequently in Shakespeare), and (except for the participle laden) has largely supplanted lade in modern English. For the meaning development from PIE, compare Latin carrus (whence carry) akin to currō.

Phrases

  • ark load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • axle load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • back load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • ball load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • bed load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • blow one's load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • blowing a load Terms derived from load (noun)
  • breakeven load factor Terms derived from load (noun)
  • gut load
  • load out
  • load up
  • load up on

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.