English Explanatory Dictionary

burden

English dictionary entry

Meanings

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. 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. To encumber with a literal or figurative burden.
  2. To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable).
noun
  1. A phrase or theme that recurs at the end of each verse in a folk song or ballad.
  2. The drone of a bagpipe.
  3. Theme, core idea.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A minor city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States.
  3. A village in Erpeldange commune, Luxembourg (French spelling).

Pronunciation

/ˈbɜːdn̩/ /ˈbɝdn̩/ en-us-burden.ogg /bʌɾdn̩/ /bøːdn̩/ /beːdn̩/ /bɛːdn̩/

Word forms

burden burdens burthen burdening burdened

Etymology

Inherited 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”).

Derived words

afterburden after-burden beast of burden bioburden burden basket burdener burdenless burden of persuasion burden of production burden of proof burdenous burdensome debt burden disburden double burden emburden enburden enburdenment overburden reburden sideburden unburden underburden white man's burden
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