burden

n.

1. Something that is carried.
2. 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. A responsibility or duty: The burden of organizing the campaign fell to me.
4. Nautical.
   1. The amount of cargo that a vessel can carry.
   2. The weight of the cargo carried by a vessel at one time.
5. The amount of a disease-causing entity present in an organism.

tr.v., -dened, -den·ing, -dens.

1. To weigh down; oppress.
2. To load or overload.

[Middle English, from Old English byrthen.]

SYNONYMS  burden, affliction, cross, trial, tribulation. 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.

bur·den² (bûr'dn)
n.

1. 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.
2. 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.]

noun

1. Something carried physically: cargo, freight, haul, load. Sports impost. See heavy/light, over/under.
2. Something hard to bear physically or emotionally: affliction, cross, trial, tribulation. See heavy/light, over/under.
3. A duty or responsibility that is a source of anxiety, worry, or hardship: millstone, onus, tax, weight. Informal headache. See heavy/light, over/under.
4. An act or course of action that is demanded of one, as by position, custom, law, or religion: charge, commitment, duty, imperative, must, need, obligation, responsibility. See obligation.

verb

To place a burden or heavy load on: charge, cumber, encumber, freight, lade, load, saddle, tax, weight. See over/under.

burden²

noun

1. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse: aim, drift, intent, meaning, purport, substance, tendency, tenor, thrust. See meaning.
2. The general sense or significance, as of an action or statement: amount, drift, import, purport, substance, tenor. Idioms: sum and substance, sum total. See meaning.

n

Definition: mental weight; stress
Antonyms: aid, help, relief

v

Definition: encumber, strain
Antonyms: aid, help, relieve

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A refrain. The term has also been used for a drone or pedal note and for a shawm.

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burden, the refrain or chorus of a song; or the main theme of a song, poem, or other literary work. A burden is sometimes distinguished from a refrain in that it starts the song or poem, and stands separate from the stanzas (as in many medieval carols), whereas a refrain usually appears as the final part of each stanza.

1. Earthy material, rock, etc., which overlays bedrock.
2. In blasting, the distance between the blasting charge and the free face of the material to be blasted.

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Generally, anything that is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive. 297 S.W. 2d 39, 44.

In property law, burden refers to any restriction on the use of land, including zoning ordinances, 548 P. 2d 538, 540, or restrictive covenants or other restrictions running with the land such as easements in favor of other property. A servient estate is property that is "burdened" with an obligation (servitude) that benefits other property. 125 N.E. 834, 839.

See burden of proof for discussion of burden in procedure.

The central topic or principle idea, often repeated in a refrain.

IN BRIEF: Something that weighs on a person's mind. Anything carried that is very heavy.

The pile of unpaid bills was a burden to Max.

Quotes:

"I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden." - St. Augustine

"Those who commit injustice bear the greatest burden." - Hosea Ballou

"I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back." - Phillips Brooks

"None knows the weight of another's burden." - George Herbert

"It's easier traveling the road of life when I don't have so much to carry on my back." - Silas Weir Mitchell

"God gave burdens, also shoulders." - Yiddish Proverb

See more famous quotes about Burdens

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - byrde, last
v. tr. - bebyrde, tynge

idioms:

• burden of proof    bevisbyrde

2.
n. - omkvæd

Nederlands (Dutch)
last, druk, refrein, (hoofd)thema, tonnage, bedrukken, opzadelen met

Français (French)
1.
n. - (lit, fig) fardeau, charge
v. tr. - charger, alourdir, accabler

idioms:

• burden of proof    (Jur) charge de la preuve

2.
n. - (Naut) charge, contenance, substance (d'un discours), refrain (d'une chanson) (arch)

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Bürde, Last, Schwerpunkt, (naut.) Tonnage, Ladung, Belastung
v. - belasten

idioms:

• burden of proof    Beweislast

2.
n. - Schwerpunkt, Refrain, Hauptidee

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάρος, άχθος, φορτίο, φόρτος, χωρητικότητα, τονάζ
v. - φορτώνω, επιβαρύνω

idioms:

• burden of proof    το βάρος της αποδείξεως

Italiano (Italian)
onere, carico

idioms:

• burden of proof    onere della prova

Português (Portuguese)
n. - carga (f), encargo (m), responsabilidade (f), parte (f) principal
v. - sobrecarregar

idioms:

• burden of proof    carregar, oprimir (fig.), ônus da prova

Русский (Russian)
обуза, обременять

idioms:

• burden of proof    бремя доказательства

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - carga, peso
v. tr. - cargar

idioms:

• burden of proof    carga de la prueba

2.
n. - porte, capacidad, tonelaje

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - börda, last, ansvar, refräng, röd tråd
v. - belasta, tynga ner

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 重负, 重担, 装载吨数, 吨位, 负担, 沉重的责任, 加重压于, 烦扰, 加负担于, 加负荷于, 使载重

idioms:

• burden of proof    提供证据之责任

2. 主旨, 主题, 歌曲的低声合唱, 合唱叠句, 副歌

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 主旨, 主題, 歌曲的低聲合唱, 合唱疊句, 副歌

2.
n. - 重負, 重擔, 裝載噸數, 噸位, 負擔, 沈重的責任
v. tr. - 加重壓於, 煩擾, 加負擔於, 加負荷於, 使載重

idioms:

• burden of proof    提供證據之責任

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 짐, 부담
v. tr. - ~에 무거운 짐을 싣다, 부담을 주다

2.
n. - 취지, 후렴

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 荷, 荷物運び, 負担, 心配, 主題, 折り返し句, 積載量
v. - 荷を負わせる, 悩ます

idioms:

• burden of proof    立証責任

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عبء, هم, وزر, حمل ثقيل, مغزى (فعل) حمل, أثقل, ضايق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮משא, נטל, כושר-קיבול, טונאז'‬
v. tr. - ‮העמיס, הטעין, הכביד‬
n. - ‮פזמון, נושא מרכזי‬

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