Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The metalliferous ore that fills a fissure in a rock formation.
- noun A vein of mineral ore deposited between clearly demarcated layers of rock.
- noun A rich source or supply.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A Middle English form of
load . - noun A way; path.
- noun A reach of water; an open ditch for carrying off water from a fen.
- noun A metalliferous deposit having more or less of a vein-like character—that is, having a certain degree of regularity, and being confined within walls.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A water course or way; a reach of water.
- noun (Mining) A metallic vein; any regular vein or course, whether metallic or not.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
way orpath ; aroad . - noun dialectal a
watercourse - noun mining A
vein ofmetallic ore that lies within definiteboundaries , or within afissure . - noun by extension A rich
source ofsupply .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Sometimes he sends them down to the mines, to show the men who work there where the richest lode is to be found; and if the miners grumble, or are discontented, the Pixies lead them astray by lighting false fires.
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Let us suppose that a mine has been already opened; that a "lode" -- that is, a vein of quartz with metal in it -- has been discovered cropping out of the earth, and that it has been dug down upon from above, and dug in upon from the sea-cliffs.
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Every miner wishes that his mine were upon this famous lode, which is made up of a large number of quartz veins extending along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is marked by hundreds of important mines.
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The lode is a large irregular one of pure arsenical pyrites, existing in a felsite dike near the sea coast.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892 Various
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The lode is a large irregular one of pure arsenical pyrites carrying, in addition to gold and silver, nickel and cobalt.
Getting Gold: a practical treatise for prospectors, miners and students
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Under this theory, the lode was the property, and the surface became a mere easement.
California Romantic and Resourceful; : a plea for the collection, preservation and diffusion of information relating to Pacific coast history John Francis Davis 1894
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One remarkable trait in the lode is the manner in which it splits into blocks and slabs, all the faces of the quartz pebbles being cloven in precisely the same plane.
To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative Richard Francis Burton 1855
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Report says that from this part of the lode, which is riddled with native pits, came some of the specimens that floated the G.C. M. C.mpany.
To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative Richard Francis Burton 1855
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For some reason, I thought "lode" would be "load", that it was one word rather than two, and that the meaning implied "huge".
Mother lode mj 2008
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About two-thirds of the world's tin is obtained from placers and one-third from vein or "lode" deposits.
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