Laid vs lade

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Grammarist

Laid and lade are commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way when spoken aloud but are spelled differently and mean different things, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words laid and lade, the word origin of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.

Laid is the past tense of lay, which means to set something down, to deposit something, to arrange something in a certain position. The word laid is derived from the Old English word lecgan, which means to put down or arrange in an orderly manner. Related words are lay, lays, laying.

Lade means to put a load of cargo on a ship or to transport cargo via ship. The word lade is derived from the Old English word hladan, which means to burden or to load. Related words are lades, laded, lading, laden.

Examples

Former Mayor Marceil “Mimi” Letts was laid to rest Thursday and remembered as an ethical politician who touched countless lives in her community. (The Daily Record)

The Badgers had a subpar year last season and the Wolverines, whom I didn’t believe in all year long, laid an egg in “The Game” when I finally picked them to win. (The Washington Examiner)

The 266,141 dwt VLOC was converted from a VLCC in China in 2008 and sank on 31 March 2017 on a lade voyaged from Ilha Guaíba, Brazil to Qingdao, China, underway in the South Atlantic 1,700 nm from the coast of Uruguay with loss of 22 out of the 24 crew on board. (Seatrade Maritime News)

This brought the town into routine maritime commerce where “vessels may with safety and dispatch lade and unlade” their goods. (The Shoreline Times)