burden

Meaning

Noun

1. A heavy load.
2. A responsibility, onus.
3. A cause of worry; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
4. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry.
5. The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
6. The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
7. A fixed quantity of certain commodities.
8. (obsolete, rare) A birth.
9. The total amount of toxins, parasites, cancer cells, plaque or similar present in an organism.
10. The distance between rows of blastholes parallel to the major free face (i.e. face of the excavation)

Verb

1. (transitive) To encumber with a literal or figurative burden.
2. (transitive) To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable).

Synonyms

load

weight

charge

encumbrance

onus

tax

responsibility

trouble

encumber

difficulty

pack

freight

saddle

refrain

obligation

cargo

burthen

weigh down

duty

annoyance

core

basis

heavy responsibility

task

fardel

pressure

bother

foundation

overload

loading

impediment

hindrance

gist

overhead cost

baggage

heavy load

overweight

incumbrance

weight down

topic

fill

essence

chorus

effect

parasite

shipment

carry

impose upon

hanger-on

strain

Translations

fardeau

charge

Last

carga

Bürde

Belastung

belasten

carico

fardello

peso

onere

charger

belasten

βάρος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɜːdn̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: burden

Inherited from Old English: byrden

Inherited from Middle English: burdoun

In summary

From Middle English burden, birden, burthen, birthen, byrthen, from Old English byrden, byrþen, from Proto-West Germanic *burþini, from *burþī, from Proto-Germanic *burþį̄, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”).