load
nounEtymology Acronym of living online all day.
load
nounUS /loʊd/ · UK /ləʊd/
Etymology
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.
21 senses
- 1A burden; a weight to be carried.
- 2A worry or concern to be endured, especially in the…
- 3A certain number of articles or quantity of material…
- 4A quantity of washing put into a washing machine for a…
- 5Used to form nouns that indicate a large quantity, often…
- 6A large number or amount.
- 7The volume of work required to be performed.
- 8The force exerted on a structural component such as a…
- 9The electrical current or power delivered by a device.
- 10A resistive force encountered by a prime mover when…
- 11Any component that draws current or power from an…
- 12A unit of measure for various quantities.
- 13Ellipsis of viral load.
- 14A very small explosive inserted as a gag into a…
- 15The charge of powder for a firearm; a loaded cartridge…
- 16Weight or violence of blows.
- 17Defecation.
- 18The contents (e.g. semen) of an ejaculation.
- 19Nonsense; rubbish.
- 20The process of loading something, i.e. transferring it…
- 21Prepaid phone credit.
1
A burden; a weight to be carried.
- I struggled up the hill with the heavy load in my rucksack.
2
Figuratively A worry or concern to be endured, especially in the phrase a load off one's mind.
- Our life's a load.1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- I came here with a load and it feels so much lighter, now I’ve met you.2005, Coldplay, Green Eyes:
3
A certain number of articles or quantity of material that can be transported or processed at one time.
- The truck overturned while carrying a full load of oil.
- She put another load of clothes in the washing machine.
4
A quantity of washing put into a washing machine for a wash cycle.
- I put a load on before we left.
5
In compounds Used to form nouns that indicate a large quantity, often corresponding to the capacity of a vehicle
6
Colloquial, In plural, Often A large number or amount.
- I got loads of presents for my birthday!
- I got a load of emails about that.
7
The volume of work required to be performed.
- Will our web servers be able to cope with that load?
8
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The force exerted on a structural component such as a beam, girder, cable etc.
- Each of the cross-members must withstand a tensile load of 1,000 newtons.
9
Business, Electrical, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The electrical current or power delivered by a device.
- I'm worried that the load on that transformer will be too high.
10
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A resistive force encountered by a prime mover when performing work.
11
Business, Electrical, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Any component that draws current or power from an electrical circuit.
- Connect a second 24-ohm load across the power supply's output terminals.
12
A unit of measure for various quantities.
- If this load equals its modern representative, it contains 18 cwt. of dry, 19 of new hay.1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 1, page 172:
13
Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of viral load.
14
A very small explosive inserted as a gag into a cigarette or cigar.
15
The charge of powder for a firearm; a loaded cartridge or round of ammunition.
- With the thought he he arose and removed his rifle from its boot. He looked to its loads and saw that the magazine was full. Then he inspected his revolver.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 79:
16
Obsolete Weight or violence of blows.
- Far heavier load thyself expect to feel From my prevailing arm1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- Already, Robbie had dumped a load into his dad, and now, before my very eyes, was Alan's own cock lube seeping out of Robbie's crinkled but fleshy sphincter.2006, John Patrick, Barely Legal, page 129:
- It felt so good, I wanted to just keep going until I blew a load down his throat, but I hadn't even seen his ass yet, and I sure didn't want to come yet.2009, John Butler, Wanderlust, page 35:
19
Euphemistic Nonsense; rubbish.
- What a load!
20
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The process of loading something, i.e. transferring it into memory or over a network, etc.
- All of those uncompressed images are going to slow down the page load.
- This description represents a form of delay slot: the load operation takes some time to complete, say n cycles. Thus, the value loaded only becomes valid n cycles after the load seems to have executed and can therefore only be read after then.2009, Daniel Page, A Practical Introduction to Computer Architecture, page 614:
21
Philippines Prepaid phone credit.
- Derived terms
175 terms
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