Etymology : Middle English, from Old English byrthen; akin to Old English beran to carry; more at BEAR
Pronunciation : b&r-d
&n
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. load; weight; capacity, volume. load; weigh down. burden\bur"den\ (bû"d'n), n. [written also burthen.] [oe. burden, burthen, birthen, birden, as. byr?en; akin to icel. byr?i, dan. byrde, sw. b?rda, g. bürde, ohg. burdi, goth. ba?r?ei, fr. the root of e. bear, as. beran, goth. bairan.
2. see:
1st bear.].
3. that which is borne or carried; a load. plants with goodly burden bowing.
4. 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.
5. the capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.
6. (mining) the tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
7. (metal.) the proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace. mond.
8. a fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
9. a birth. [obs. & r.].
10. That which is borne or carried; a load.
11. That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
12. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.
13. The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
14. The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
15. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
16. A birth.
17. To encumber with weight ; to lay a heavy load upon; to load.
18. To oppress with anything grievous or trying; to overload; as, to burden a nation with taxes.
19. To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden.
20. The verse repeated in a song, or the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain.
21. Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic; as, the burden of a prayer.
22. The drone of a bagpipe.
23. A club. an onerous or difficult concern; "the burden of responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind" the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse weight down with a load.
24. 1. If you describe a problem or a responsibility as a burden, you mean that it causes someone a lot of difficulty, worry, or hard work. The developing countries bear the burden of an enormous external debt Her death will be an impossible burden on Paul The financial burden will be more evenly shared.
25. A burden is a heavy load that is difficult to carry.
26. If someone burdens you with something that is likely to worry you, for example a problem or a difficult decision, they tell you about it. We decided not to burden him with the news. see also:
beast of burden.