burden

n. [ Written also burthen. ] [ OE. burden, burthen, birthen, birden, AS. byrðen; akin to Icel. byrði, Dan. byrde, Sw. börda, G. bürde, OHG. burdi, Goth. baúrþei, fr. the root of E. bear, AS. beran, Goth. bairan. √92. See 1st Bear. ] 1. That which is borne or carried; a load. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plants with goodly burden bowing. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive. [ 1913 Webster ]

Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone,
To all my friends a burden grown. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mining) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Metal.) The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A birth. [ Obs. & R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]