burdenburthenn.

/ˈbəːd(ə)n/

/ˈbəːð(ə)n/

Forms: α. Old English berðen, Middle English byrðen, byrþan, Middle English byr-, birþin(e, birthen(e, birthun, ( borþon), Middle English burþen, burþon, Middle English berthen, Middle English birthan, byrthyn, borhtyn, Middle English– burthen. β. Middle English byrden, Middle English birden, birdin, Middle English byrdoun, Middle English byrdune, byrdyn(g, birdyn(g, burdyne, 1500s bordone, bir-, burding, burdayne, burdeyne, burdun, bourdon, Scottish buirdin, Middle English– burden.

Etymology: Old English byrðen strong feminine = Old Saxon burthinnia < West Germanic type *burþinnja , an extension (with suffix -innja as in Old English rǽden ) of *burþi- (see birth n.¹), < stem. bur- of *ber-an to bear v.¹ The synonymous Old High German burdîn , Gothic baurþei , differ only in the suffix. The English forms with d , which began to appear early in 12th cent., may be compared with murder for murther , and dialect farden , furder , for farthing , further . The prevalent form is now burden , but burthen is still often retained for ‘capacity of a ship’, and also as a poetic or rhetorical archaism in other senses. Of the senses in Branch IV, some are derived from the Romanic bourdon n.², influenced by the English burden; others belong to the native word with more or less influence < bourdon. The fusion of the two words is so complete that it is not possible to treat Branch IV as an independent noun.

I. That which is borne.

1. A load.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads > a load

ladec897

seamc950

lastOE

burdena1000

charge?c1225

load?c1225

burnc1375

draughta1400

summerc1400

portage1445

pauchlea1450

fraughtc1450

freightc1503

loadinga1513

carriage1597

ballast1620

cargo1657

porterage1666

freightage1823

smalls1846

journey1859

send-off1909

payload1914

α.

a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 106 Sarcina, seam uel berðen.

1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1135 Wua sua bare his byrþen gold & syluer.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12961 He bar uppen his rugge burðene [c1300 Otho borþone] grete.

a1300 Havelok 807 Gladlike I wile the paniers bere..They ther be inne a birthene gret.

1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Num. iv. 47 Berthens to be bore [a1425 To bere chargis].

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum viii. xxv Bereris of heuy burþones.

1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie i. 4 I trust the burthen will sone be disburdened.

a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 44 All Ships, that take in their Burthen here.

1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. ii. 7 Oh by thine own sad burthen, borne So meekly.

β. c1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxiii. 4 Hyo bindeð hefige byrdene þe man abere ne mæg.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Ne ber hit nes nefre nane burdene.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 6830 If þu find of þin ill-willand vnder birdin his best ligand.c1440 York Myst. xxxii. 114 Bring on his bak a burdeyne of golde.c1470 Henry Wallace xi. 29 A Churll yai had, yat felloune byrdyngs bar.a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 92 With burden of our armor heere we sweat. 1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 205 Did here the Trees with ruddier Burdens bend?1847 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Peru I. iii. vi. 453 A light burden..was laid on his back.

2. figurative.

a. A load of labour, duty, responsibility, blame, sin, sorrow, etc. Cf. white man's burden n. at white man n. Compounds Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > of white races

burdenc971

white man's burden1865

the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > circumstance or occurrence > a burdensome lot or fate

burdenc971

cupa1340

the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > encumberment > burdensomeness > a burden

burdenc971

chargec1300

packa1325

burnc1375

fardelc1380

weightc1380

carriagea1556

load1600

taxa1628

overpoise1697

dead weight1720

backload1725

millstone1787

tin kettle1796

nightmare-weight1847

ball and chain1855

α.

c971 Blickl. Hom. 75 Swa sæt þonne seo unaræfnedlice byrþen synna on eallum þysum menniscan cynne.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 30 Soðlice min geoc is wynsum, and min byrðyn [v.r. byrðen, Hatton berðene] is leoht.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17338 Late us and urs þe birthen ber.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 168 A greuous burthen was thy berth to me.

1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) 82 A nervous colic, which rendered my life a burthen.

1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. vii. 46 The folly of laying the burthen at my door.

1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms iv. 221 Hath she no friend whose heart may share With her the burthen of despair?

β. 1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 11959 For heuy byrdoun þat y of hem [sins] bere Y am confoundede.c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. 101 Þe burden of my sorwe.1661 Sir H. Vanes Politicks 13 The burden of an injury.1885 W. E. Gladstone in Christian World 15 Jan. 37/2 Sovereignty has been relieved by our modern institutions of some of its burdens.

b. burden of proof n. [onus probandi in Roman Law] the obligation to prove a controversial assertion, falling upon the person who makes it.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > [noun] > burden of proof

burden of proof1593

onus probandi1722

weight1824

onus of proof1827

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie iv. iv. 177 The burthen of prouing doth rest on them.

1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 64 The burthen of proof rests upon me, that so many pensions..are necessary for the public service.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 152 The Roman Catholic divines took on themselves the burden of the proof.

c. An obligatory expense, whether due on private account or as a contribution to national funds; often with the additional notion of pressing heavily upon industry and restraining freedom of action.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > obligatory or necessary

necessariesc1449

burden1661

1661 A. Marvell Let. 6 Apr. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 22 In the matter of your two Companyes, if they be of any charge or burthen to you, he is willing to indulge you.

1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero I. ii. 62 Without any burthen on the Province.

1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V II. iv. 256 The addition of such a load to their former burdens, drove them to despair.

1813 Duke of Wellington Let. 11 Feb. in Dispatches (1838) X. 110 The burdens imposed shall be imposed with equality.

1863 H. Fawcett Man. Polit. Econ. iii. vi. 369 The burden of any fixed money payment.

1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 373 The King lays certain feudal burthens on his tenants in chief.

3. A ‘load’ (whether of man, animal, vehicle, etc.) considered as a measure of quantity. Now only applied to the carrying capacity of a ship, stated as a certain number of tons. Cf. 7.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel with reference to qualities or attributes > [noun] > attributes of vessel > carrying or cubic capacity

portage1436

burden1555

lastage1571

wastie1600

tonnage1718

grt1911

ton tight-

α.

1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) 2 Kings v. 17 Graunte thou to me..that Y take of the lond the birthun of twei burdones.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 155 A man which stale sumtyme a birthan of thornis was sett in to the moone.

1560 in Etoniana ii. 32 Fyve burthens of rushes to straw Mr. Durstons chamber.

a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 206 A vessell of too great a burthen.

1814 Duke of Wellington Let. 7 Feb. in Dispatches (1838) XI. 505 Vessels of from fifteen to thirty tons burthen.

β. 1515 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/4) Payd for ij bordones off thornis for a hows.1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 349^v A shyppe of the burden of seuen score toonne.1630 J. Wadsworth Eng. Spanish Pilgrime (new ed.) iv. 33 This ship was of an 100 Tunne burden.1871 J. Q. Adams in C. Davies Metr. Syst. iii. 168 The burden of a ship, as a weight, is ascertained by the depth of the water she draws.

†4.

a. That which is borne in the womb; a child.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > child > [noun]

wenchelc890

childeOE

littleOE

littlingOE

hired-childc1275

smalla1300

brolla1325

innocentc1325

chickc1330

congeonc1330

impc1380

faunt1382

young onec1384

scionc1390

weea1400

birdc1405

chickenc1440

enfaunta1475

small boyc1475

whelp1483

burden1490

little one1509

brat?a1513

younkerkin1528

kitling1541

urchin1556

loneling1579

breed1586

budling1587

pledge?1587

ragazzo1591

simplicity1592

bantling1593

tadpole1594

two-year-old1594

bratcheta1600

lambkin1600

younker1601

dandling1611

buda1616

eyas-musketa1616

dovelinga1618

whelplinga1618

puppet1623

butter printa1625

chit1625

piggy1625

ninnyc1626

youngster1633

fairya1635

lap-child1655

chitterling1675

squeaker1676

cherub1680

kid1690

wean1692

kinchin1699

getlingc1700

totum17..

charity-child1723

small girl1734

poult1739

elfin1748

piggy-wiggy1766

piccaninny1774

suck-thumb18..

teeny1802

olive1803

sprout1813

stumpie1820

sexennarian1821

totty1822

toddle1825

toddles1828

poppet1830

brancher1833

toad1836

toddler1837

ankle-biter1840

yarkera1842

twopenny1844

weeny1844

tottykins1849

toddlekins1852

brattock1858

nipper1859

sprat1860

ninepins1862

angelet1868

tenas man1870

tad1877

tacker1885

chavvy1886

joey1887

toddleskin1890

thumb-sucker1891

littlie1893

peewee1894

tyke1894

che-ild1896

kiddo1896

mother's bairn1896

childling1903

kipper1905

pick1905

small1907

God forbid1909

preadolescent1909

subadolescent1914

toto1914

snookums1919

tweenie1919

problem child1920

squirt1924

trottie1924

tiddler1927

subteen1929

perisher1935

poopsie1937

pre-schooler1937

pre-teen1938

pre-teener1940

juvie1941

sprog1944

pikkie1945

subteenager1947

pre-teenager1948

pint-size1954

saucepan lid1960

rug rat1964

smallie1984

bosom-child-

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iv. 131 I see my ryche burden go to exyle.

1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 397 The veines whereby the burthen is nourished, may well be likened to small rootes, whereby plants are cherished.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. i. 16 Let wiues with childe Pray that their burthens may not fall this day.

1629 J. Gaule Practique Theories Christs Predict. 112 Mary's burden and vnweildinesse, might well haue excused her absence.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 767 That my womb conceiv'd A growing burden .

†b. at one burden: at one birth. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > confinement > [adverb] > at one birth

at one burdena1325

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1467 At on birdene ghe under-stod Two ðe weren hire sibbe blod.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 43 Sche bare tweie children at oon burþen.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. i. f. 3 Further Judas had two children at a burden.

1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 83^v Where many children are borne at one burdeyne.

a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) iv. 17 Some are of opinion that Evah at every burden bare twinnes.

†5. What is borne by the soil; produce, crop.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > crop or crops > [noun]

wastumc888

tiltha1100

estrea1300

madder-cropc1300

gainage1390

cropa1400

yieldingc1405

emblement1495

burden?1523

increase1535

field-ware1546

gather1555

esplees1598

husbandrya1616

glebe1660

warea1661

récolte1669

tilling1680

tillage1681

stuffa1687

growing1722

bearing1747

raccolta1748

the crops1789

plant1832

raising1857

cropping1861

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. vii^v Gode grounde woll haue y^e burthan of corne or of wede.

1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 11 It furnisheth the Owners thereof with a greater burthen of Corn, Pulse, or whatever is sown thereon.

6. In Mining and Metallurgy. (See quot.)

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > ore > [noun] > proportion of ore to flux and fuel

burden1825

1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 329 In proportion to the quantity of lime and ore that is added to the standard quantity of the coke, the furnace is said to carry a greater or less burthen.

1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 113 Burden (Cornw.) i. The tops or heads of stream-work, which lie over the stream of tin. 2. The proportion of ore and flux to fuel in the charge of a blast-furnace.

1944 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 150 419 We are operating at present on a burden of 60% brown Northampton ore and 30% carbonate ore.

1952 Gloss. Welding & Cutting Metals (B.S.I.) 43 Burden, the layer of melt and fused metal above the welding zone in submerged-arc welding.

II. The action or process of bearing.

7. The bearing of loads, as in beast of burden, ship of burden (= merchant-ship).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads

burdena1400

the world > animals > domestic animal > [noun] > work animals > beast of burden

widgeeOE

beastc1300

jument1382

aver?a1513

sumpter1526

sumpture1567

beast of carriage1586

beast of burden1740

sumpter1821

pack animal1846

shavetail1846

baggage-animal1852

baggager1859

pack1866

packer1875

α.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5520 Halds þam..In birthþin, bath to bere and drau.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 112 Which before Tall Ships of burthen, on its Bosom bore.

1740 S. Johnson Drake in Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 603 Peruvian Sheep, which are the Beasts of Burthen in that Country.

1803 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) II. 199 Every animal..of the description of a beast of burthen.

β. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. l. 222 With nine thousand and thirty eight great ships of burden.1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 385 Dogs drawing in carts as beasts of burden.1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. x. 110 To do the work that was most like that of a beast of burden.

III. Biblical uses.

8. Used in the English Bible (like onus in the Vulgate) to render Hebrew massā, which Gesenius would translate ‘lifting up (of the voice), utterance, oracle’; the Septuagint has ῥῆμα, λῆμμα, ὅραμα. But it is generally taken in English to mean a ‘burdensome or heavy lot or fate’.

ΚΠ

α.

1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) Zech. xii. 1 The birthun [1382 charge] of the word of the Lord on Israel.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. xii The heuy burthen which the Lorde hath deuysed for Israel.

β. 1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xiii. 1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the sonne of Amoz did see. 1865 A. C. Swinburne Ballad of Burdens 1 The burden of fair women.

IV. Senses showing confusion with bourdon n.² [The earliest quotation for bourdon n.² shows that word already confused with this. Apparently the notion was that the bass or undersong was ‘heavier’ than the air. The bourdon usually continued when the singer of the air paused at the end of a stanza, and (when vocal) was usually sung to words forming a refrain, being often taken up in chorus; hence sense 10. As the refrain often expresses the pervading sentiment or thought of a poem, this use became coloured by the notion of ‘that which is carried’ by the poem; its ‘gist’ or essential contents.]

†9. The bass, ‘undersong’, or accompaniment: = bourdon n.² 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [noun] > part in harmony or counterpoint > bass parts

bourdonc1400

burden1594

bassus1605

thoroughbass1632

bass1666

ground bass1685

continuo1724

continued bass1728

figured bass1786

walking bass1825

basso ostinato1876

bass line1894

bottom1936

bottom line1963

basso continuo-

α.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. H4 Burthen-wise ile hum on Tarqvin still, While thou on Terevs descants.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 242 I would sing my song without a burthen, thou bring'st me out of tune.

1833 I. Taylor Fanaticism ii. 46 The burthen of the dull echoes that shake the damps from the roof of his cavern.

β. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. ii. 85 Heauy? belike it hath some burden then? Lu. I: and melodious were it, would you sing it. c1840 H. W. Longfellow Terrestr. Paradise vi Foliage that made monotonous burden to their [birds'] rhymes.

10. The refrain or chorus of a song; a set of words recurring at the end of each verse.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > a song > [noun] > refrain

refraid?a1439

overword?a1513

refrain1530

foot1538

counterverse1570

faburden1580

burden1598

holding1598

chorus1601

foreburden1603

bob1606

ludden1607

down1611

nonnya1616

rame?c1625

tag1717

overcome?a1800

overturn1825

α.

1598 F. Bacon Sacred Medit. x. 123 As it were a burthen or verse of returne to all his other discourses.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 383 Foote it featly heere, and there, and sweete Sprights beare the burthen. [stage direct. Burthen dispersedly.] Harke, harke, bowgh wawgh.

1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (cvii. Paraphr.) 543 Having a double burthen, or intercalary verse oft recurring.

1774 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry I. i. 26 It..has a burthen or chorus.

1838 E. Guest Hist. Eng. Rhythms II. 290 Burthen..the return of the same words at the close of each stave.

β. 1772 W. Jones Poems Pref. p. vi A lively burden at the end of each stanza.1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. iii. 304 At intervals, in place of a burden, they imitated the braying of an ass.1868 A. Helps Realmah I. vii. 207 Realmah had joined in the burden of the Ainah's song.

11. figurative. The chief theme; leading idea; prevailing sentiment.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun] > leading theme

burden1649

keynote1763

motif1952

1649 W. Blith Eng. Improver xxiv. 153 What is the Burden of my Song, and is the onely sure Cure.

1793 E. Burke Observ. Conduct Minority in Wks. (1821) VII. 247 This was the burthen of all his song—‘Every thing which we could reasonably hope from war, would be obtained from treaty.’

1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & Bks. I. xi. 199 The burden or leading idea of every couplet was the same.

1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xx. 449 Mercy and justice..is the burden of the whole Prophetic teaching.

1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xi. 126 The burden of what he said was to defend enthusiastically the conservative aristocracy.

V. Senses relating to rowing.

12. plural. The floor boards of a rowing boat; side burdens, the side seats in a rowing boat.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > internal planking > plank(s) along bottom of boat

foot walinga1647

bottom boards1787

footling1855

burdens1857

gangboard1857

gangway1867

1857 P. M. Colquhoun Compan. Oarsman's Guide 29 The flooring is termed burthens.

1857 P. M. Colquhoun Compan. Oarsman's Guide 31 Side burthens are extra thwarts laid in provisionally to carry sitters: burthens are the bottom boards.

1898 A. Ansted Dict. Sea Terms 37 In boats the burdens are the footwalings.

Compounds

General attributive.

C1.

burden-band n.

ΚΠ

1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 23 Burdenband, a hempen hayband.

burden-bearer n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > transference > [noun] > conveying or transporting > action of carrying > one who carries > of specific thing

pannier-bearer1451

basket-bearer1530

bagman1531

burden-bearer1580

hamperman1631

budget-bearer1684

boat-bearer1706

card carrier1845

basket-carrier1849

bag-carrier1890

1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Crocheteur..a burthen bearer.

1833 H. Martineau Charmed Sea iv. 45 The burden-bearers must find their account in..a medium of exchange.

burden-board n.

burden ship n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > trading vessel > cargo vessel > [noun]

burden ship1658

freighter1839

cargo-boat1859

cargo-ship1884

1658 tr. J. Ussher Ann. World 424 50 burden-ships of their friends shut in by the beaked ships of Eumenes.

C2.

burden-bearing adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > domestic animal > [adjective] > labouring > that bears a burden

bearingOE

sumptery1546

veterine1656

burden-bearing1793

weight-carrying1883

the world > movement > transference > [adjective] > relating to conveying or transporting > carrying > carrying specific thing

load-carrying1611

burden-carrying1768

burden-bearing1793

basket-bearing1834

1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xl. 209 Nothing but burden-bearing patience in the eyes [of the camel and dromedary].

burden-carrying adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > transference > [adjective] > relating to conveying or transporting > carrying > carrying specific thing

load-carrying1611

burden-carrying1768

burden-bearing1793

basket-bearing1834

1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. 475 Ale-drinking, burthen-carrying, fish-selling rhetoricians.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	burden
释义	burdenburthenn. /ˈbəːd(ə)n//ˈbəːð(ə)n/ Forms: α. Old English berðen, Middle English byrðen, byrþan, Middle English byr-, birþin(e, birthen(e, birthun, ( borþon), Middle English burþen, burþon, Middle English berthen, Middle English birthan, byrthyn, borhtyn, Middle English– burthen. β. Middle English byrden, Middle English birden, birdin, Middle English byrdoun, Middle English byrdune, byrdyn(g, birdyn(g, burdyne, 1500s bordone, bir-, burding, burdayne, burdeyne, burdun, bourdon, Scottish buirdin, Middle English– burden. Etymology: Old English byrðen strong feminine = Old Saxon burthinnia < West Germanic type burþinnja , an extension (with suffix -innja* as in Old English rǽden ) of burþi- (see birth n.¹), < stem. bur-* of ber-an to bear v.¹ The synonymous Old High German burdîn* , Gothic baurþei , differ only in the suffix. The English forms with d , which began to appear early in 12th cent., may be compared with murder for murther , and dialect farden , furder , for farthing , further . The prevalent form is now burden , but burthen is still often retained for ‘capacity of a ship’, and also as a poetic or rhetorical archaism in other senses. Of the senses in Branch IV, some are derived from the Romanic bourdon n.², influenced by the English burden; others belong to the native word with more or less influence < bourdon. The fusion of the two words is so complete that it is not possible to treat Branch IV as an independent noun. I. That which is borne. 1. A load. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads > a load ladec897 seamc950 lastOE burdena1000 charge?c1225 load?c1225 burnc1375 draughta1400 summerc1400 portage1445 pauchlea1450 fraughtc1450 freightc1503 loadinga1513 carriage1597 ballast1620 cargo1657 porterage1666 freightage1823 smalls1846 journey1859 send-off1909 payload1914 α. a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 106 Sarcina, seam uel berðen. 1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1135 Wua sua bare his byrþen gold & syluer. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12961 He bar uppen his rugge burðene [c1300 Otho borþone] grete. a1300 Havelok 807 Gladlike I wile the paniers bere..They ther be inne a birthene gret. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Num. iv. 47 Berthens to be bore [a1425 To bere chargis]. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum viii. xxv Bereris of heuy burþones. 1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie i. 4 I trust the burthen will sone be disburdened. a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 44 All Ships, that take in their Burthen here. 1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. ii. 7 Oh by thine own sad burthen, borne So meekly. β. c1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxiii. 4 Hyo bindeð hefige byrdene þe man abere ne mæg.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Ne ber hit nes nefre nane burdene.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 6830 If þu find of þin ill-willand vnder birdin his best ligand.c1440 York Myst. xxxii. 114 Bring on his bak a burdeyne of golde.c1470 Henry Wallace xi. 29 A Churll yai had, yat felloune byrdyngs bar.a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 92 With burden of our armor heere we sweat. View more context for this quotation1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 205 Did here the Trees with ruddier Burdens bend?1847 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Peru I. iii. vi. 453 A light burden..was laid on his back. 2. figurative. a. A load of labour, duty, responsibility, blame, sin, sorrow, etc. Cf. white man's burden n. at white man n. Compounds Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > of white races burdenc971 white man's burden1865 the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > circumstance or occurrence > a burdensome lot or fate burdenc971 cupa1340 the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > encumberment > burdensomeness > a burden burdenc971 chargec1300 packa1325 burnc1375 fardelc1380 weightc1380 carriagea1556 load1600 taxa1628 overpoise1697 dead weight1720 backload1725 millstone1787 tin kettle1796 nightmare-weight1847 ball and chain1855 α. c971 Blickl. Hom. 75 Swa sæt þonne seo unaræfnedlice byrþen synna on eallum þysum menniscan cynne. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 30 Soðlice min geoc is wynsum, and min byrðyn [v.r. byrðen, Hatton berðene] is leoht. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17338 Late us and urs þe birthen ber. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 168 A greuous burthen was thy berth to me. View more context for this quotation 1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) 82 A nervous colic, which rendered my life a burthen. 1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. vii. 46 The folly of laying the burthen at my door. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms iv. 221 Hath she no friend whose heart may share With her the burthen of despair? β. 1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 11959 For heuy byrdoun þat y of hem [sins] bere Y am confoundede.c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. 101 Þe burden of my sorwe.1661 Sir H. Vanes Politicks 13 The burden of an injury.1885 W. E. Gladstone in Christian World 15 Jan. 37/2 Sovereignty has been relieved by our modern institutions of some of its burdens. b. burden of proof n. [onus probandi in Roman Law] the obligation to prove a controversial assertion, falling upon the person who makes it. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > [noun] > burden of proof burden of proof1593 onus probandi1722 weight1824 onus of proof1827 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie iv. iv. 177 The burthen of prouing doth rest on them. 1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 64 The burthen of proof rests upon me, that so many pensions..are necessary for the public service. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 152 The Roman Catholic divines took on themselves the burden of the proof. c. An obligatory expense, whether due on private account or as a contribution to national funds; often with the additional notion of pressing heavily upon industry and restraining freedom of action. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > obligatory or necessary necessariesc1449 burden1661 1661 A. Marvell Let. 6 Apr. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 22 In the matter of your two Companyes, if they be of any charge or burthen to you, he is willing to indulge you. 1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero I. ii. 62 Without any burthen on the Province. 1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V II. iv. 256 The addition of such a load to their former burdens, drove them to despair. 1813 Duke of Wellington Let. 11 Feb. in Dispatches (1838) X. 110 The burdens imposed shall be imposed with equality. 1863 H. Fawcett Man. Polit. Econ. iii. vi. 369 The burden of any fixed money payment. 1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 373 The King lays certain feudal burthens on his tenants in chief. 3. A ‘load’ (whether of man, animal, vehicle, etc.) considered as a measure of quantity. Now only applied to the carrying capacity of a ship, stated as a certain number of tons. Cf. 7. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel with reference to qualities or attributes > [noun] > attributes of vessel > carrying or cubic capacity portage1436 burden1555 lastage1571 wastie1600 tonnage1718 grt1911 ton tight- α. 1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) 2 Kings v. 17 Graunte thou to me..that Y take of the lond the birthun of twei burdones. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 155 A man which stale sumtyme a birthan of thornis was sett in to the moone. 1560 in Etoniana ii. 32 Fyve burthens of rushes to straw Mr. Durstons chamber. a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 206 A vessell of too great a burthen. 1814 Duke of Wellington Let. 7 Feb. in Dispatches (1838) XI. 505 Vessels of from fifteen to thirty tons burthen. β. 1515 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/4) Payd for ij bordones off thornis for a hows.1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 349^v A shyppe of the burden of seuen score toonne.1630 J. Wadsworth Eng. Spanish Pilgrime (new ed.) iv. 33 This ship was of an 100 Tunne burden.1871 J. Q. Adams in C. Davies Metr. Syst. iii. 168 The burden of a ship, as a weight, is ascertained by the depth of the water she draws. †4. a. That which is borne in the womb; a child. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > child > [noun] wenchelc890 childeOE littleOE littlingOE hired-childc1275 smalla1300 brolla1325 innocentc1325 chickc1330 congeonc1330 impc1380 faunt1382 young onec1384 scionc1390 weea1400 birdc1405 chickenc1440 enfaunta1475 small boyc1475 whelp1483 burden1490 little one1509 brat?a1513 younkerkin1528 kitling1541 urchin1556 loneling1579 breed1586 budling1587 pledge?1587 ragazzo1591 simplicity1592 bantling1593 tadpole1594 two-year-old1594 bratcheta1600 lambkin1600 younker1601 dandling1611 buda1616 eyas-musketa1616 dovelinga1618 whelplinga1618 puppet1623 butter printa1625 chit1625 piggy1625 ninnyc1626 youngster1633 fairya1635 lap-child1655 chitterling1675 squeaker1676 cherub1680 kid1690 wean1692 kinchin1699 getlingc1700 totum17.. charity-child1723 small girl1734 poult1739 elfin1748 piggy-wiggy1766 piccaninny1774 suck-thumb18.. teeny1802 olive1803 sprout1813 stumpie1820 sexennarian1821 totty1822 toddle1825 toddles1828 poppet1830 brancher1833 toad1836 toddler1837 ankle-biter1840 yarkera1842 twopenny1844 weeny1844 tottykins1849 toddlekins1852 brattock1858 nipper1859 sprat1860 ninepins1862 angelet1868 tenas man1870 tad1877 tacker1885 chavvy1886 joey1887 toddleskin1890 thumb-sucker1891 littlie1893 peewee1894 tyke1894 che-ild1896 kiddo1896 mother's bairn1896 childling1903 kipper1905 pick1905 small1907 God forbid1909 preadolescent1909 subadolescent1914 toto1914 snookums1919 tweenie1919 problem child1920 squirt1924 trottie1924 tiddler1927 subteen1929 perisher1935 poopsie1937 pre-schooler1937 pre-teen1938 pre-teener1940 juvie1941 sprog1944 pikkie1945 subteenager1947 pre-teenager1948 pint-size1954 saucepan lid1960 rug rat1964 smallie1984 bosom-child- 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iv. 131 I see my ryche burden go to exyle. 1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 397 The veines whereby the burthen is nourished, may well be likened to small rootes, whereby plants are cherished. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. i. 16 Let wiues with childe Pray that their burthens may not fall this day. View more context for this quotation 1629 J. Gaule Practique Theories Christs Predict. 112 Mary's burden and vnweildinesse, might well haue excused her absence. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 767 That my womb conceiv'd A growing burden . View more context for this quotation †b. at one burden: at one birth. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > confinement > [adverb] > at one birth at one burdena1325 a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1467 At on birdene ghe under-stod Two ðe weren hire sibbe blod. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 43 Sche bare tweie children at oon burþen. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. i. f. 3 Further Judas had two children at a burden. 1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 83^v Where many children are borne at one burdeyne. a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) iv. 17 Some are of opinion that Evah at every burden bare twinnes. †5. What is borne by the soil; produce, crop. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > crop or crops > [noun] wastumc888 tiltha1100 estrea1300 madder-cropc1300 gainage1390 cropa1400 yieldingc1405 emblement1495 burden?1523 increase1535 field-ware1546 gather1555 esplees1598 husbandrya1616 glebe1660 warea1661 récolte1669 tilling1680 tillage1681 stuffa1687 growing1722 bearing1747 raccolta1748 the crops1789 plant1832 raising1857 cropping1861 ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. vii^v Gode grounde woll haue y^e burthan of corne or of wede. 1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 11 It furnisheth the Owners thereof with a greater burthen of Corn, Pulse, or whatever is sown thereon. 6. In Mining and Metallurgy. (See quot.) ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > ore > [noun] > proportion of ore to flux and fuel burden1825 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 329 In proportion to the quantity of lime and ore that is added to the standard quantity of the coke, the furnace is said to carry a greater or less burthen. 1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 113 Burden (Cornw.) i. The tops or heads of stream-work, which lie over the stream of tin. 2. The proportion of ore and flux to fuel in the charge of a blast-furnace. 1944 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 150 419 We are operating at present on a burden of 60% brown Northampton ore and 30% carbonate ore. 1952 Gloss. Welding & Cutting Metals (B.S.I.) 43 Burden, the layer of melt and fused metal above the welding zone in submerged-arc welding. II. The action or process of bearing. 7. The bearing of loads, as in beast of burden, ship of burden (= merchant-ship). ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads burdena1400 the world > animals > domestic animal > [noun] > work animals > beast of burden widgeeOE beastc1300 jument1382 aver?a1513 sumpter1526 sumpture1567 beast of carriage1586 beast of burden1740 sumpter1821 pack animal1846 shavetail1846 baggage-animal1852 baggager1859 pack1866 packer1875 α. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5520 Halds þam..In birthþin, bath to bere and drau. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 112 Which before Tall Ships of burthen, on its Bosom bore. View more context for this quotation 1740 S. Johnson Drake in Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 603 Peruvian Sheep, which are the Beasts of Burthen in that Country. 1803 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) II. 199 Every animal..of the description of a beast of burthen. β. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. l. 222 With nine thousand and thirty eight great ships of burden.1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 385 Dogs drawing in carts as beasts of burden.1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. x. 110 To do the work that was most like that of a beast of burden. III. Biblical uses. 8. Used in the English Bible (like onus in the Vulgate) to render Hebrew massā, which Gesenius would translate ‘lifting up (of the voice), utterance, oracle’; the Septuagint has ῥῆμα, λῆμμα, ὅραμα. But it is generally taken in English to mean a ‘burdensome or heavy lot or fate’. ΚΠ α. 1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) Zech. xii. 1 The birthun [1382 charge] of the word of the Lord on Israel. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. xii The heuy burthen which the Lorde hath deuysed for Israel. β. 1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xiii. 1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the sonne of Amoz did see. View more context for this quotation1865 A. C. Swinburne Ballad of Burdens 1 The burden of fair women. IV. Senses showing confusion with bourdon n.² [The earliest quotation for bourdon n.² shows that word already confused with this. Apparently the notion was that the bass or undersong was ‘heavier’ than the air. The bourdon usually continued when the singer of the air paused at the end of a stanza, and (when vocal) was usually sung to words forming a refrain, being often taken up in chorus; hence sense 10. As the refrain often expresses the pervading sentiment or thought of a poem, this use became coloured by the notion of ‘that which is carried’ by the poem; its ‘gist’ or essential contents.] †9. The bass, ‘undersong’, or accompaniment: = bourdon n.² 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [noun] > part in harmony or counterpoint > bass parts bourdonc1400 burden1594 bassus1605 thoroughbass1632 bass1666 ground bass1685 continuo1724 continued bass1728 figured bass1786 walking bass1825 basso ostinato1876 bass line1894 bottom1936 bottom line1963 basso continuo- α. 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. H4 Burthen-wise ile hum on Tarqvin still, While thou on Terevs descants. a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 242 I would sing my song without a burthen, thou bring'st me out of tune. View more context for this quotation 1833 I. Taylor Fanaticism ii. 46 The burthen of the dull echoes that shake the damps from the roof of his cavern. β. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. ii. 85 Heauy? belike it hath some burden then? Lu. I: and melodious were it, would you sing it. View more context for this quotationc1840 H. W. Longfellow Terrestr. Paradise vi Foliage that made monotonous burden to their [birds'] rhymes. 10. The refrain or chorus of a song; a set of words recurring at the end of each verse. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > a song > [noun] > refrain refraid?a1439 overword?a1513 refrain1530 foot1538 counterverse1570 faburden1580 burden1598 holding1598 chorus1601 foreburden1603 bob1606 ludden1607 down1611 nonnya1616 rame?c1625 tag1717 overcome?a1800 overturn1825 α. 1598 F. Bacon Sacred Medit. x. 123 As it were a burthen or verse of returne to all his other discourses. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 383 Foote it featly heere, and there, and sweete Sprights beare the burthen. [stage direct. Burthen dispersedly.] Harke, harke, bowgh wawgh. 1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (cvii. Paraphr.) 543 Having a double burthen, or intercalary verse oft recurring. 1774 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry I. i. 26 It..has a burthen or chorus. 1838 E. Guest Hist. Eng. Rhythms II. 290 Burthen..the return of the same words at the close of each stave. β. 1772 W. Jones Poems Pref. p. vi A lively burden at the end of each stanza.1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. iii. 304 At intervals, in place of a burden, they imitated the braying of an ass.1868 A. Helps Realmah I. vii. 207 Realmah had joined in the burden of the Ainah's song. 11. figurative. The chief theme; leading idea; prevailing sentiment. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun] > leading theme burden1649 keynote1763 motif1952 1649 W. Blith Eng. Improver xxiv. 153 What is the Burden of my Song, and is the onely sure Cure. 1793 E. Burke Observ. Conduct Minority in Wks. (1821) VII. 247 This was the burthen of all his song—‘Every thing which we could reasonably hope from war, would be obtained from treaty.’ 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & Bks. I. xi. 199 The burden or leading idea of every couplet was the same. 1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xx. 449 Mercy and justice..is the burden of the whole Prophetic teaching. 1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xi. 126 The burden of what he said was to defend enthusiastically the conservative aristocracy. V. Senses relating to rowing. 12. plural. The floor boards of a rowing boat; side burdens, the side seats in a rowing boat. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > internal planking > plank(s) along bottom of boat foot walinga1647 bottom boards1787 footling1855 burdens1857 gangboard1857 gangway1867 1857 P. M. Colquhoun Compan. Oarsman's Guide 29 The flooring is termed burthens. 1857 P. M. Colquhoun Compan. Oarsman's Guide 31 Side burthens are extra thwarts laid in provisionally to carry sitters: burthens are the bottom boards. 1898 A. Ansted Dict. Sea Terms 37 In boats the burdens are the footwalings. Compounds General attributive. C1. burden-band n. ΚΠ 1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 23 Burdenband, a hempen hayband. burden-bearer n. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > transference > [noun] > conveying or transporting > action of carrying > one who carries > of specific thing pannier-bearer1451 basket-bearer1530 bagman1531 burden-bearer1580 hamperman1631 budget-bearer1684 boat-bearer1706 card carrier1845 basket-carrier1849 bag-carrier1890 1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Crocheteur..a burthen bearer. 1833 H. Martineau Charmed Sea iv. 45 The burden-bearers must find their account in..a medium of exchange. burden-board n. burden ship n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > trading vessel > cargo vessel > [noun] burden ship1658 freighter1839 cargo-boat1859 cargo-ship1884 1658 tr. J. Ussher Ann. World 424 50 burden-ships of their friends shut in by the beaked ships of Eumenes. C2. burden-bearing adj. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > domestic animal > [adjective] > labouring > that bears a burden bearingOE sumptery1546 veterine1656 burden-bearing1793 weight-carrying1883 the world > movement > transference > [adjective] > relating to conveying or transporting > carrying > carrying specific thing load-carrying1611 burden-carrying1768 burden-bearing1793 basket-bearing1834 1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xl. 209 Nothing but burden-bearing patience in the eyes [of the camel and dromedary]. burden-carrying adj. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > transference > [adjective] > relating to conveying or transporting > carrying > carrying specific thing load-carrying1611 burden-carrying1768 burden-bearing1793 basket-bearing1834 1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. 475 Ale-drinking, burthen-carrying, fish-selling rhetoricians. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online June 2022). burdenburthenv. /ˈbəːd(ə)n//ˈbəːð(ə)n/ Forms: α. 1500s– burthen. β. 1500s burdon, bourdain, 1500s– burden. Etymology: < burden n. 1. a. transitive. To lay a (material) burden on; to load. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > [verb (transitive)] > load seamc950 ladeOE fethre?c1225 charge1297 lastc1400 load?1504 laden1514 loaden1568 burden1570 endorse1671 freight1829 sling load1933 1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Eiii^v/2 To Burden, onerare. 1594 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis (new ed.) sig. D^v The colt that's backt and burthend being yong. 1624 I. Bargrave Serm. against Selfe Policy 2 Coffers burdned with the aboundance of silver and gold. 1830 Lyell Geol. I. 299 Glaciers..burdened with alluvial debris. b. figurative. To load, encumber, oppress, lay a burden on, tax (memory, conscience, resources, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > hinder in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > encumber > burden charka1300 chargec1308 cark1330 liea1400 labour1437 onerate1453 endossa1500 onera1500 laden1514 load1526 aggravate1530 lay1530 honorate1533 ladea1538 burden1541 ballast1566 loaden1568 degravate1574 aburden1620 pregravate1654 comble1672 1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxxviii. f. 92 Bourdaining them with continual labours. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 202 Let vs not burthen our remembrances, with A heauinesse that's gon. View more context for this quotation 1637 Bk. Common Prayer Church of Scotl. Of Ceremonies sig. a5 Which..did burden mens consciences without any cause. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. ix. 138 Without burthening their Memory. 1832 H. Martineau Homes Abroad ii. 34 Without burthening the parish. 1868 E. Edwards Life Sir W. Ralegh I. xxi. 459 Burdened with variety of pursuits and duties. †2. To charge (a person) with (an accusation); to lay as a charge upon (a person). Obsolete or archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > accuse [verb (transitive)] > lay to one's charge, impute witec893 challenge1297 weena1300 to bear upon —c1300 likenc1400 layc1425 to put upa1438 object1447 establish1483 impose1484 reproach1490 annotea1513 lade1535 appoint1553 burden1559 clap1609 to charge (a fault, etc.) on, upon, against (a person)1611 upcast1825 1559 Declar. of Doctrine in J. Strype Ann. Reformation I. i. viii. 114 Elias the prophet was burthened with false doctrine, and to be a disturber of the commonwealth. 1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 304/2 Many Writers burden King William..for the procuring of Stigand his depriuation. 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 926 One of the Tribunes..burdened him [Clodius] that he had prophaned the holy ceremonies. 1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 276 b You must..convince all these patcheries to be falsly burdened upon your Church. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 210 This is false he burthens me with~ all. View more context for this quotation 1779 S. Johnson Smith in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets IV. 53 Too studious of truth to leave them burthened with a false charge.] †3. to burden out: to outweigh. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > outweigh overweigh?c1225 to burden out1668 1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. J. Walaeus Two Epist. (new ed.) in tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) 375 Whether..they have in them any weight, wherewith to burthen out Opinion. Derivatives ˈburdening n. and adj. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [adjective] > encumbering > burdening chargeous138. onerous1395 chargeantc1400 onerable?a1475 importunable?c1485 chargeand1487 onerosea1500 chargeable1509 chargeful1529 burdenousa1535 onerarious1548 burdensome1578 loadsome1578 burdeninga1616 loading1625 a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. v. 10 Weake Shoulders, ouer-borne with burthening Griefe. View more context for this quotation 1641 R. Greville Disc. Nature Episcopacie ii. v. 82 A Synod hath a commanding and burdening Power. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.c971v.1541
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burdenburthenn.

Compounds

burdenburthenv.

Derivatives