1. [n]  weight to be borne or conveyed
2. [n]  an onerous or difficult concern; "the burden of responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind"
3. [n]  the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse
4. [n]  the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
5. [v]  impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to; "He charged her with cleaning up all the files over the weekend"
6. [v]  weight down with a load

1. \Bur"den\ (b[^u]"d'n), n. [Written also burthen.] [OE.
   burden, burthen, birthen, birden, AS. byr[eth]en; akin to
   Icel. byr[eth]i, Dan. byrde, Sw. b["o]rda, G. b["u]rde, OHG.
   burdi, Goth. ba['u]r[thorn]ei, fr. the root of E. bear, AS.
   beran, Goth. bairan. [root]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}.
   
   Usage: 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.
   
   

2. \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.
   
   
   
   

3. \Bur"den\ (b[^u]r"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.
   
   

4. \Bur"den\, n. [See {Burdon}.]
   A club. [Obs.] --Spenser.
   
   

(1.) A load of any kind (Ex. 23:5). (2.) A severe task (Ex. 2:11). (3.) A difficult duty, requiring effort (Ex. 18:22). (4.) A prophecy of a calamitous or disastrous nature (Isa. 13:1; 17:1; Hab. 1:1, etc.).