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.
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            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.
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   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.
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   9. (Elec.) The device or devices that consume power from a
      power supply.
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   10. (Engineering) The weight or force that a structural
       support bears or is designed to bear; the object that
       creates that force.
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   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.
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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.
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   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.
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   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.
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   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.
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