functional load

Noun

1. Targeted exposure of an implement or organ to stimuli or other straining it is supposed or being tested to tolerate.
   • Here we studied serotoninergic innervation of visceral organs during functional load and under pathological conditions. - 2004, A. E. Lychkova, “Serotoninergic Nervous System of the Heart and Abdominal Organs during...
   • Here we address the question of how embryonic fibroblasts interact with the extracellular matrix to form a functional load-bearing tissue of defined mechanical properties. - 2018 October 2, David F. Holmes, Ching-Yan...
   • The significant influences of the functional load parameters on free vibrations are illustrated first. Then using the terms of effective axial force, the influence of functional loads on spanning pipeline VIV response...

   Synonyms: functional performance functional loading

2. A measure of how much a difference between phonemes disambiguates between different words.
   • The difference between voiced and voiceless TH in English bears a low functional load.
   • The term functional load is customarily used in linguistics to describe the extent and degree of contrast between linguistic units, usually phonemes. In its simplest expression, functional load is a measure of the...
   • Collectively, (3) to (8) provide evidence for the reconstruction of morpheme- and root-initial *g, albeit with quite a low functional load. - 1992, Malcolm D. Ross, “The Sound of Proto-Austronesian: An Outsider's View...