Etymology: Middle English lod, from Old English lād support, carrying — more at lode
Date: 12th century
1 a: the quantity that can be carried at one time by a specified means; especially: a measured quantity of a commodity fixed for each type of carrier —often used in combination <a boatload of tourists>b: whatever is put on a person or pack animal to be carried :packc: whatever is put in a ship or vehicle or airplane for conveyance :cargo; especially: a quantity of material assembled or packed as a shipping unit 2 a: a mass or weight supported by something <branches bent low by their load of fruit>b: the forces to which a structure is subjected due to superposed weight or to wind pressure on the vertical surfaces; broadly: the forces to which a given object is subjected 3 a: something that weighs down the mind or spirits <took a load off her mind>b: a burdensome or laborious responsibility <always carried his share of the load> 4slang: an intoxicating amount of liquor drunk 5: a large quantity :lot —usually used in plural 6 a: a charge for a firearm b: the quantity of material loaded into a device at one time 7: external resistance overcome by a machine or prime mover 8 a: power output (as of a power plant) or power consumption (as by a device) b: a device to which power is delivered 9 a (1): the amount of work that a person carries or is expected to carry (2): the amount of authorized work to be performed by a machine, a group, a department, or a factory b: the demand on the operating resources of a system (as a telephone exchange or a refrigerating apparatus) 10slang:eyeful —used in the phrase get a load of 11: the amount of a deleterious microorganism, parasite, growth, or substance present in a human or animal body <measure viral load in the blood><the worm load in rats> —called also burden 12: an amount added (as to the price of a security or the net premium in insurance) to represent selling expense and profit to the distributor 13:genetic load
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