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lode

 - 4 dictionary results

lode

  [lohd]
Use lode in a Sentence
–noun
1. a veinlike deposit, usually metalliferous.
2. any body of ore set off from adjacent rock formations.
3. a rich supply or source.
4. British. a waterway or channel.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE lād way, course, carrying; c. ON leith way, route, OHG leita procession. See load, lade, lead 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lode   (lōd)   
n.  

    1. The metalliferous ore that fills a fissure in a rock formation.

    2. A vein of mineral ore deposited between clearly demarcated layers of rock. Also called lead1.

  2. A rich source or supply.


[Middle English, way, load, from Old English lād, way; see leit- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

lode 
original M.E. spelling of load (q.v.), and custodian of most of the original meaning. Differentiation in sense took place 16c. Mining sense of "vein of metal ore" is from 1602, from notion of miners "following" it through the rock. Lodestone "magnetic oxide of iron" (1515) was used as a magnet to guide mariners; lodestar (c.1374) was an old name for the pole star (cf. O.N. leiðarstjarna) as the star that "leads the way" in navigation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

lode

in geology, ore body that is disseminated within definite boundaries in unwanted rock or minerals (gangue). The term, as used by geologists, is nearly synonymous with the term lode, as used by miners. There are two distinct types: fissure veins and ladder veins.

Learn more about lode with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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