Lode

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Lode \Lode\ (l[=o]d), n. [AS. l[=a]d way, journey, fr.
     l[imac][eth]an 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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  lode
       n : a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite
           boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks [syn: {load}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  36 Moby Thesaurus words for "lode":
     Eldorado, Golconda, bonanza, chimney, chute, cornucopia,
     country rock, deposit, dike, font, fount, fountain, gangue,
     gold mine, gravy train, lodestuff, matrix, mine, mine of wealth,
     mineral deposit, mother lode, ore bed, pay dirt, quarry, resource,
     rich lode, rich uncle, shoot, source, source of supply, spring,
     staple, stock, vein, well, wellspring