functional load

noun Linguistics.

the relative frequency of occurrence of words that are differentiated in one and the same position by only one distinctive feature. In English, the opposition of voiced and voiceless th has a low functional load being used only to distinguish such pairs as ether and either, or wreath and wreathe.
Also called functional yield.

Words nearby functional load

functional group, functional hypertrophy, functional illiterate, functional imperative, functional isomer, functional load, functional medicine, functional murmur, functional neurosurgery, functional occlusion, functional representation