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laden

[leyd-n]
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adjective
  1. burdened; loaded down.
verb (used with object)
  1. to lade.

Origin of laden

First recorded in 1585–95; lade + -en3, -en1
Related formsun·lad·en, adjective

lade

[leyd]
verb (used with object), lad·ed, lad·en or lad·ed, lad·ing.
  1. to put (something) on or in, as a burden, load, or cargo; load.
  2. to load oppressively; burden (used chiefly in the passive): laden with many responsibilities.
  3. to fill or cover abundantly (used chiefly in the passive): trees laden with fruit; a man laden with honors.
  4. to lift or throw in or out, as a fluid, with a ladle or other utensil.
verb (used without object), lad·ed, lad·en or lad·ed, lad·ing.
  1. to take on a load.
  2. to lade a liquid.

Origin of lade

before 900; Middle English laden, Old English hladan to load, draw up (water); cognate with Dutch laden, German laden, Old Norse hlatha to load. Cf. ladle
Related formslad·er, noun
Can be confusedlade laid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for laden

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • They returned home just as it was growing dark, laden with basket and portmanteau.

    Rico and Wiseli

    Johanna Spyri

  • A little whatnot in one corner was laden with the trophies of battle.

    The Village Watch-Tower

    (AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin

  • The trees were just breaking into leaf, and the air was laden with a subtle odour of spring.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • In a few minutes Von Holzen returned, laden with bottles and jars.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • He lifted his head and sniffed the flaccid air, which was laden with a heavy odour.

    Alice Adams

    Booth Tarkington

British Dictionary definitions for laden

laden

verb
  1. a past participle of lade 1
adjective
  1. weighed down with a load; loaded
  2. encumbered; burdened

lade1

verb lades, lading, laded, laden (ˈleɪdən) or laded
  1. to put cargo or freight on board (a ship, etc) or (of a ship, etc) to take on cargo or freight
  2. (tr; usually passive and foll by with) to burden or oppress
  3. (tr; usually passive and foll by with) to fill or load
  4. to remove (liquid) with or as if with a ladle
Derived Formslader, noun

Word Origin

Old English hladen to load; related to Dutch laden

lade2

noun
  1. Scot a watercourse, esp a millstream

Word Origin

of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for laden

adj.

"loaded, weighted down," 1590s, from the original past participle of lade.

lade

v.

Old English hladan (past tense hlod, past participle gehladen) "to load, heap" (the general Germanic sense), also "to draw water" (a meaning peculiar to English), from Proto-Germanic *khlad- (cf. Old Norse hlaða, Old Saxon hladan, Middle Dutch and Dutch laden, Old Frisian hlada "to load," Old High German hladen, German laden), from PIE *kla- "to spread out flat" (cf. Lithuanian kloti "to spread," Old Church Slavonic klado "to set, place").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper