Etymology
1. "that which is laid upon a person or beast, burden," 1225, from O.E.
lad "way, course, carrying," from P.Gmc.
*laido (cf. O.H.G.
leita, Ger.
leite, O.N.
leið "way, course"); related to O.E.
lædan "to guide" (see
lead (v.)). Sense shifted 13c. to supplant words based on
lade (q.v.), to which it is not etymologically connected; original association with "guide" is preserved in
lodestone (see lode). Meaning "amount customarily loaded at one time" is from 1384. Fig. sense of "burden weighing on the mind, heart, or soul" is first attested 1593. Meaning "amount of work" is from 1946. Colloquial
loads "lots" is attested from 1606. The verb is from 1495; of firearms from 1626. To
take one's load "drink one's fill" is from 1598; hence slang
loaded "drunk" (1886). In the sense of "rich,"
loaded is attested from 1910. Phrase
take a load off one's feet "sit down, relax" is from 1945.
Get a load of "take a look at" is Amer.Eng. colloquial, attested from 1929.
2. 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”).
3. 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.
4. 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),
5. and (except for the participle laden) has largely supplanted lade in modern English.
6. For the meaning development from PIE, compare Latin carrus (whence carry) akin to currō.
Verbs referencing "load"
Cebuano load, Norwegian
laste, Norwegian, nynorsk
laste, Thai
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