The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Load \Load\ (l[=o]d), n. [OE. lode load, way; properly the same
   word as lode, but confused with lade, load, v. See Lade,
   Lead, v., Lode.]
   1. 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.
      [1913 Webster]

            He might such a load
            To town with his ass carry.           --Gower.
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   2. The quantity which can be carried or drawn in some
      specified way; the contents of a cart, barrow, or vessel;
      that which will constitute a cargo; lading.
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   3. That which burdens, oppresses, or grieves the mind or
      spirits; as, a load of care. " A . . . load of guilt."
      --Ray. " Our life's a load." --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A particular measure for certain articles, being as much
      as may be carried at one time by the conveyance commonly
      used for the article measured; as, a load of wood; a load
      of hay; specifically, five quarters.
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   5. The charge of a firearm; as, a load of powder.
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   6. Weight or violence of blows. [Obs.] --Milton.
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   7. (Mach.) The work done by a steam engine or other prime
      mover when working.
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   8. The amount of work that a person, group, or machine is
      assigned to perform; as, the boss distributed the load
      evenly among his employees.
      [PJC]

   9. (Elec.) The device or devices that consume power from a
      power supply.
      [PJC]

   10. (Engineering) The weight or force that a structural
       support bears or is designed to bear; the object that
       creates that force.
       [PJC]

   Load line, or Load water line (Naut.), the line on the
      outside of a vessel indicating the depth to which it sinks
      in the water when loaded.

   Syn: Burden; lading; weight; cargo. See Burden.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

load line
    n 1: waterlines to show the level the water should reach when
         the ship is properly loaded [syn: load line, Plimsoll
         line, Plimsoll mark, Plimsoll]