Laden

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈleɪdən/

Definitions

1. Carrying a heavy load or weight ; feeling weighed down by worry or grief
2. Being full or heavily burdened with objects or cargo ; experiencing emotional stress or sorrow
3. Having much or too much to carry physically ; mentally or emotionally troubled by concerns or sorrow

Etymology: "Laden" is simply the past participle of "lade," an old verb meaning to load or burden someone or something with a cargo. Its sense of being weighed down, whether by goods or by grief, follows naturally from that original act of loading a vessel or animal. "Lade" itself is a verb with a long pedigree in English, and the word's continued life in modern usage owes much to its long-standing association with heavy burdens. Because the word is a form of "lade," its meaning has stayed close to that root: to be laden is to have been loaded. The emotional sense, being laden with sorrow, extends the physical image of a heavy load to a heavy heart, a metaphor that English speakers have leaned on for centuries.

Synonyms: loaded, burdened, weighed down

Antonyms: unloaded, light