Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Load in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels load as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Load

[OE. lode load, way; properly the same word as lode, but confused with lade, load, v. See Lade, Lead, v., Lode.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordload
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[OE. lode load, way; properly the same word as lode, but confused with lade, load, v. See Lade, Lead, v., Lode.]
Selected historical definitionA burden; that which is laid on or put in anything for conveyance; that which is borne or sustained; a weight; as, a heavy load.
Signed record IDwebster1913-load-noun-91aa1e38a4fa
Source locatorCIDE.L, paragraph 5608; Gutenberg eBook 664
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 664Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "load" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. lode load, way; properly the same word as lode, but confused with lade, load, v. See Lade, Lead, v., Lode.]" The selected historical definition says: "A burden; that which is laid on or put in anything for conveyance; that which is borne or sustained; a weight; as, a heavy load."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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adjective

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Live

[Abbreviated from alive. See Alive, Life.]

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Local

[L. localis, fr. locus place: cf. F. local. See Lieu, Locus.]

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Large

[F., fr. L. largus. Cf. Largo.]

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Lost

[Prop. p. p. of OE. losien. See Lose, v. t.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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