n. [ AS. lād way, journey, fr. līðan to go. See Lead to guide, and cf. Load a burden. ] 1. A water course or way; a reach of water. [ 1913 Webster ]

Down that long, dark lode . . . he and his brother skated home in triumph. C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mining) A body of ore visibly separated from adjacent rock. [ PJC ]

3. Especially: (Mining) Any regular vein or course of valuable mineral, whether metallic or not. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Hence: A concentrated supply or source of something valuable. [ PJC ]

mother lode a large concentrated source of mineral or other valuable thing, from which lesser sources have been derived; -- often used figuratively. The term may have been originally applied to real or imagined large deposits of gold from which smaller granules were washed downstream, there constituting a diluted source of gold, and hinting at the richer source from which they were derived; as, to hit the mother lode. [ PJC ]

{ , n. Pilotage; skill of a pilot or loadsman. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. lodemenage. Chaucer. ] Pilotage. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An old name for a pilot boat. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ Load, lode + man. See Lode. ] A pilot. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Loadsman. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ Load, lode + star. See Lode. ] 1. A star that leads; a guiding star; esp., the polestar, Polaris; also, the constellation containing the pole star, the cynosure (Ursa Minor). Chaucer. “ Your eyes are lodestars.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The pilot can no loadstar see. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Something that serves as a guide or provides direction; a cynosure{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

3. Something that attracts attention or on which the atention is fixed; a cynosure{ 3 }. [ PJC ]

n. Same as Loadstar. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ Load, lode + stone. ] (Min.) A piece of magnetite, a magnetic iron ore, possessing polarity like a magnetic needle, having the power to attract as well as to be attracted magnetically. See Magnetite. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Min.) Same as Loadstone. [ 1913 Webster ]