Difference between “laden” and “loaded”


In A. E. Housman's With rue my heart is laden:



WITH rue my heart is laden
For golden friends I had,
For many a rose-lipt maiden
And many a lightfoot lad.



he refers to laden as loaded, burdened with regrets. But laden differs from loaded according to a pocketbook I have.


Can somebody help with the big difference?



Answer



While each has specific meanings that are not shared (eg "loaded" for "rich"), in their central meaning they are synonymous. (The Oxford English Dictionary uses each of the two as one of the words to define the other).


"Laden" tends to be more poetic, but it can still be used in ordinary speech.


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