An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Laden

by Friedrich Kluge

Laden, m., ‘shop, shutter,’ from MidHG. laden, lade, m., ‘board, plank, shutter, shop.’ The meaning of MidHG. lade, ‘board,’ is the orig. one, hence the derivation of the word from the vb. laden must be rejected in favour of its connection with ModHG. Latte; since the latter in Goth. would be represented by *laþþô, and Lade by *laþa, we might assume a root laþ, pre-Teut. lat, meaning ‘board’; comp. Latte.