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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
5. The charge of a firearm; as, a load of powder.
[1913 Webster]
6. Weight or violence of blows. [Obs.] --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
7. (Mach.) The work done by a steam engine or other prime
mover when working.
[1913 Webster]
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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Water line \Wa"ter line`\
1. (Shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel,
model, or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at
various heights from the keel.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward
curves showing the horizontal form of the ship at their
several heights; in a sheer plan, they are projected as
straight horizontal lines.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Naut.) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water
when she is afloat on an even keel. The lowest line
indicates the vessel's proper submergence when not loaded,
and is called the light water line; the highest, called
the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
when loaded.
[1913 Webster]
Water-line model (Shipbuilding), a model of a vessel formed
of boards which are shaped according to the water lines as
shown in the plans and laid upon each other to form a
solid model.
[1913 Webster]