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13 dictionary results for: Burden

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

bur·den1

[bur-dn] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	that which is carried; load: a horse's burden of rider and pack.

2.	that which is borne with difficulty; obligation; onus: the burden of leadership.

Nautical.

a.	the weight of a ship's cargo.

b.	the carrying capacity of a ship.

4.	Mining. overburden (def. 3).

5.	Metallurgy. the minerals charged into a blast furnace or steelmaking furnace.

6.	Accounting. overhead (def. 6).

–verb (used with object)

7.	to load heavily.

8.	to load oppressively; trouble.

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME, var. of burthen, OE byrthen; akin to G Bürde, Goth baurthei; see bear¹

]

—Related forms

bur·den·er, noun

bur·den·less, adjective

—Synonyms 1. See load. 2. weight, encumbrance, impediment. 8. weigh down, saddle, try, afflict, perturb, plague, grieve, vex.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

bur·den2

[bur-dn] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the main point, message, or idea.

2.	Music. the refrain or recurring chorus of a song.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME bordoun, burdoun < OF bourdon droning sound, instrument making such a sound

]

—Synonyms 1. substance, core, crux, nucleus, essence.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bur·den¹ (bûr'dn) Pronunciation Key
n.

Something that is carried.
1. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear.
2. A source of great worry or stress; weight: The burden of economic sacrifice rests on the workers of the plant.
3. The amount of cargo that a vessel can carry.
4. The weight of the cargo carried by a vessel at one time.
A responsibility or duty: The burden of organizing the campaign fell to me.
Nautical
1. The amount of cargo that a vessel can carry.
2. The weight of the cargo carried by a vessel at one time.
The amount of a disease-causing entity present in an organism.

tr.v. bur·dened, bur·den·ing, bur·dens

To weigh down; oppress.
To load or overload.

[Middle English, from Old English byrthen; see bher-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: These nouns denote something onerous or troublesome: the burden of a guilty conscience; indebtedness that is an affliction; a temper that is her cross; a troublemaker who is a trial to the teacher; suffered many tribulations in rising from poverty. See Also Synonyms at substance.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bur·den² (bûr'dn) Pronunciation Key
n.

A principal or recurring idea; a theme: "The burden of what he said was to defend enthusiastically the conservative aristocracy" (J.A. Froude). See Synonyms at substance.
Music
1. The chorus or refrain of a composition, especially of a 15th-century carol.
2. A drone, as of a bagpipe or pedal point.
3. Archaic The bass accompaniment to a song.

[Variant of bourdon.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
burden

O.E. byrðen "a load," from P.Gmc. *burthinjo "that which is borne" (cf. O.N. byrðr, O.S. burthinnia, Ger. bürde, Goth. baurþei), from PIE *bher- "carry, give birth." The shift from -th- to -d- took place beginning 12c. (cf. murder). Archaic burthen is occasionally retained for the specific sense of "capacity of a ship." Sense of "leading idea" (1649) and "refrain or chorus of a song" (1598) are from use in M.E. bibles to translate Heb. massa "lifting up (of the voice), oracle;" but this sense is generally taken in Eng. as "a heavy lot, fate."

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

burden
noun
1.	an onerous or difficult concern; "the burden of responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind"
2.	weight to be borne or conveyed [syn: load]
3.	the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work [syn: effect]
4.	the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse
verb
1.	weight down with a load [ant: disburden]
2.	impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to; "He charged her with cleaning up all the files over the weekend" [syn: charge]

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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: bur·den
Function: noun
1 : something that is a duty, obligation, or responsibility burden of proving every element of the offense> burdens> <burden of pleading the necessary elements>
2 : BURDEN OF PROOF burden on the insanity issue —Case & Comment>

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Burden, KS (city, FIPS 9250) Location: 37.31314 N, 96.75503 W
Population (1990): 518 (221 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 67019

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burden

Bur"den\ (b[^u]"d'n), n. [Written also burthen.] [OE. burden, burthen, birthen, birden, AS. byr[eth]en; akin to Icel. byr[eth]i, Dan. byrde, Sw. b["o]rda, G. b["u]rde, OHG. burdi, Goth. ba['u]r[thorn]ei, fr. the root of E. bear, AS. beran, Goth. bairan. [root]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) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.

5. (Metal.) 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 [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.

Usage: 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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burden

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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burden

Bur"den\ (b[^u]r"d'n), n. [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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burden

Bur"den\, n. [See Burdon.] A club. [Obs.] --Spenser.

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Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Burden

(1.) A load of any kind (Ex. 23:5). (2.) A severe task (Ex. 2:11). (3.) A difficult duty, requiring effort (Ex. 18:22). (4.) A prophecy of a calamitous or disastrous nature (Isa. 13:1; 17:1; Hab. 1:1, etc.).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

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