Etymologically
Log in

workload

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈwɜːkləʊd/[1]
  • US: /ˈwɝːkloʊd/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English work + load, joining the nouns work and load.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The amount of work to be done by a person or group, especially at work: 1899, in the Edinburgh Medical Journal.[2] Merriam-Webster also dates this sense to 1899,[5] while Etymonline dates the word, also written work-load, from 1939,[3] Dictionary.com from 1940–45[4] and the Collegiate from 1943.[6]

Semantic evolution

Within a few years of its first record the word was applied to machines: from 1903, in the Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, it meant the work done or handled by a machine.[2] Modern dictionaries define it by a time span, the work expected of someone or performed by a machine in a given period.[5][7][8]

Timeline

  • 1899 – the amount of work to be done by a person.[2][5]
  • 1903 – the work done or handled by a machine.[2]
  • 1939 – first date given by Etymonline, also spelled work-load.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The amount of work that a person or group is expected to do, or is given, especially within a set period: Two new hires should ease the nurses' workload.[5][8][7]
  2. The amount of work a machine or system does or can do within a set period.[5][7][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins