lode

 
Pronunciation: /ləʊd/

noun

  • a vein of metal ore in the earth: the tin oxide was very thinly scattered within the lode
  • a rich source of something: a rich lode of scandal and alleged crime

Origin:

Old English lād 'way, course', variant of load. The term denoted a watercourse in late Middle English and a lodestone in the early 16th century The current sense dates from the early 17th century