Bur"den (bû"d'n), 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.
Plants with goodly burden bowing.
Shak.
2. 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.
Swift.
3. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo
that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.
4. (Mining) The tops or heads of stream-work
which lie over the stream of tin.
5. (Metal.) The proportion of ore and flux
to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace. Raymond.
6. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a
burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
7. A birth. [Obs. & R.] Shak.
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.
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.
Bur"den, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Burdened (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n.
Burdening (&?;).] 1. To encumber with weight
(literal or figurative); to lay a heavy load upon; to load.
I mean not that other men be eased, and ye
burdened.
2 Cor. viii. 13.
2. To oppress with anything grievous or trying; to
overload; as, to burden a nation with taxes.
My burdened heart would break.
Shak.
3. To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place
as a burden (something heavy or objectionable). [R.]
It is absurd to burden this act on Cromwell.
Coleridge.
Syn. -- To load; encumber; overload; oppress.
Bur"den (bûr"d'n), n. [OE.
burdoun the bass in music, F. bourdon; cf. LL. burdo
drone, a long organ pipe, a staff, a mule. Prob. of imitative origin. Cf.
Bourdon.] 1. The verse repeated in a song, or
the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain.
Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic;
as, the burden of a prayer.
I would sing my song without a burden.
Shak.
2. The drone of a bagpipe.
Ruddiman.
Bur"den, n. [See Burdon.] A
club. [Obs.] Spenser.
