burden

Definition

A heavy load.

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”).

Example Sentences

• "I know that this was Life,—the track ⁠Whereon with equal feet we fared; ⁠And then, as now, the day prepared The daily burden for the back."
• "There were four or five men in the vault already, and I could hear more coming down the passage, and guessed from their heavy footsteps that they were carrying burdens."
• "c. 1710-1730, Jonathan Swift, The Dean's Complaint Translated and Answered Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone, / To all my friends a burden grown."