'bargeload' originates from a compound of English words 'barge' and 'load'. 'barge' originates from Old French 'barge', ultimately from Latin 'barca', where 'barca' meant 'boat'. 'load' originates from Old English 'lād', where 'lād' meant 'carriage' or 'a course of carrying.'

'bargeload' was formed by joining 'barge' (from Latin 'barca' via Old French 'barge') and Old English 'lād' (which became Modern English 'load'), resulting in the modern compound 'bargeload'.

Initially, the components referred to 'boat' and 'carriage' and the compound meant 'a load for a barge'; over time it has retained this literal meaning as 'the cargo carried by a barge'.