Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ladle \La"dle\, n. [AS. hl[ae]del, fr. hladan to load, drain.
   See {Lade}, v. t.]
   1. A cuplike spoon, often of large size, with a long handle,
      used in lading or dipping.

            When the materials of glass have been kept long in
            fusion, the mixture casts up the superfluous salt,
            which the workmen take off with ladles. --Boyle.

   2. (Founding) A vessel to carry liquid metal from the furnace
      to the mold.

   3. The float of a mill wheel; -- called also {ladle board}.

   4. (Gun.)
      (a) An instrument for drawing the charge of a cannon.
      (b) A ring, with a handle or handles fitted to it, for
          carrying shot.

   {Ladle wood} (Bot.), the wood of a South African tree
      ({Cassine Colpoon}), used for carving.