Bur"den , n. [See Burdon.]
A club. [Obs.]
Spenser.
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 , 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 (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.
Hear it pronounced