burden

burden is a Noun

Definition:

[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] The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.

[5] 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 Etym: [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.