burden
/ˈbɜːdn̩/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.23 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A responsibility, onus.
noun
A cause of worry; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
noun
The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
noun
A fixed quantity of certain commodities.
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."
- "a ship of a hundred tons burden"
- ""[…] The quay is upwards of 1,000 feet in length, and capable of accommodating more than 100 sail of traders; and there are generally a considerable number of vessels of from 40 to 300 tons burden, from various parts of the world, waiting to receive their cargoes.""
- "A burden of gad steel is 120 pounds."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English birthene, birthen, birden, from Old English byrden, byrþen, from Proto-West Germanic *burþini, from *burþī, from Proto-Germanic *burþį̄, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰer-, birthene, byrden, *burþini, *burþį̄, burdoun
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɜːdn̩/
- British English: /ˈbɜːdn̩/