BURDEN

load, loading, burden

(noun) weight to be borne or conveyed

burden, load, encumbrance, incumbrance, onus

(noun) an onerous or difficult concern; “the burden of responsibility”; “that’s a load off my mind”

burden

(noun) the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse

effect, essence, burden, core, gist

(noun) the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

charge, saddle, burden

(verb) impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to; “He charged her with cleaning up all the files over the weekend”

burden, burthen, weight, weight down

(verb) weight down with a load

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Burden (plural Burdens)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Burden is the 2770th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 13028 individuals. Burden is most common among White (66.55%) and Black/African American (27.82%) individuals.

Anagrams

• bunder, burned, unbred

Etymology 1

Noun

burden (plural burdens)

A heavy load.

A responsibility, onus.

A cause of worry; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.

The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry.

(mining) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.

(metalworking) The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.

A fixed quantity of certain commodities.

(obsolete, rare) A birth.

(medicine) The total amount of toxins, parasites, cancer cells, plaque or similar present in an organism.

Verb

burden (third-person singular simple present burdens, present participle burdening, simple past and past participle burdened)

(transitive) To encumber with a literal or figurative burden.

(transitive) To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable).

Etymology 2

Noun

burden (plural burdens)

(music) A phrase or theme that recurs at the end of each verse in a folk song or ballad.

The drone of a bagpipe.

Theme, core idea.

Anagrams

• bunder, burned, unbred

Source: Wiktionary


Bur"den, n. [Written also burthen.] Etym: [OE. burden, burthen, birthen, birden, AS. byredhen; akin to Icel. byredhi, Dan. byrde, Sw. börda, G. bürde, OHG. burdi, Goth. baúr, fr. the root of E. bear, AS. beran, Goth. bairan. *92. See 1st Bear.]

1. That which is borne or carried; a load. Plants with goodly burden bowing. Shak.

2. That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive. Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone, To all my friends a burden grown. Swift.

3. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.

4. (Mining)

Definition: The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.

5. (Metal.)

Definition: The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace. Raymond.

6. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.

7. A birth. [Obs. & R.] Shak. Beast of burden, an animal employed in carrying burdens.

– Burden of proof Etym: [L. onus probandi] (Law), the duty of proving a particular position in a court of law, a failure in the performance of which duty calls for judgment against the party on whom the duty is imposed.

Syn.

– Burden, Load. A burden is, in the literal sense, a weight to be borne; a load is something laid upon us to be carried. Hence, when used figuratively, there is usually a difference between the two words. Our burdens may be of such a nature that we feel bound to bear them cheerfully or without complaint. They may arise from the nature of our situation; they may be allotments of Providence; they may be the consequences of our errors. What is upon us, as a load, we commonly carry with greater reluctance or sense of oppression. Men often find the charge of their own families to be a burden; but if to this be added a load of care for others, the pressure is usually serve and irksome.

Bur"den, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burdened; p. pr. & vb. n. Burdening.]

1. To encumber with weight (literal or figurative); to lay a heavy load upon; to load. I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened. 2 Cor. viii. 13.

2. To oppress with anything grievous or trying; to overload; as, to burden a nation with taxes. My burdened heart would break. Shak.

3. To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable). [R.] It is absurd to burden this act on Cromwell. Coleridge.

Syn.

– To load; encumber; overload; oppress.

Bur"den, n. Etym: [OE. burdoun the bass in music, F. bourdon; cf. LL. burdo drone, a long organ pipe, a staff, a mule. Prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Bourdon.]

1. The verse repeated in a song, or the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain. Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic; as, the burden of a prayer. I would sing my song without a burden. Shak.

2. The drone of a bagpipe. Ruddiman.

Bur"den, n. Etym: [See Burdon.]

Definition: A club. [Obs.] Spenser.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 April 2024

SUBDUCTION

(noun) a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate


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