burdened
- (of a vessel) required to yield to a vessel having the right of way.Compare privileged(def 5).
Origin of burdened
burden1
- that which is carried; load: a horse's burden of rider and pack.
- that which is borne with difficulty; obligation; onus: the burden of leadership.
- Nautical.
- the weight of a ship's cargo.
- the carrying capacity of a ship.
- Mining. overburden(def 3).
- Metallurgy. the minerals charged into a blast furnace or steelmaking furnace.
- Accounting. overhead(def 6).
- to load heavily.
- to load oppressively; trouble.
Origin of burden1
Synonyms
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Examples from the Web for burdened
Contemporary Examples
Huckabee is also not burdened by, or beholden to, foreign investors.
He was wonderful, with Laura Linney, as a burdened brother and sister looking after an ailing parent in The Savages (2007).
Conservatives, on the other hand, burdened with no such principles, can let it rip.
Further, I never wanted to have a child who could possibly be burdened with what I grew up in.
Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic malady, dooms its sufferers to a short and burdened life.
Historical Examples
I would sooner you had killed me than burdened my soul with your death.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
He is not to be burdened for ever with the sense of his sins.
BunyanJames Anthony Froude
At the next moment there was the sound from without of burdened footsteps.
A Son of HagarSir Hall Caine
Especially were they burdened with books on economics and political science.
Herbert HooverVernon Kellogg
The conscience of to-day is burdened with a load well-nigh unbearable.
Another SheafJohn Galsworthy
burden1
- something that is carried; load
- something that is exacting, oppressive, or difficult to bearthe burden of responsibility Related adjective: onerous
- nautical
- the cargo capacity of a ship
- the weight of a ship's cargo
- (sometimes foll by up) to put or impose a burden on; load
- to weigh down; oppressthe old woman was burdened with cares
Word Origin
burden2
- a line of words recurring at the end of each verse of a ballad or similar song; chorus or refrain
- the principal or recurrent theme of a speech, book, etc
- another word for bourdon
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for burdened
burden
n.1
"a load," Old English byrðen "a load, weight, charge, duty;" also "a child;" from Proto-Germanic *burthinjo- "that which is borne" (cf. Old Norse byrðr, Old Saxon burthinnia, German bürde, Gothic baurþei), from PIE root *bher- (1) "to bear, to carry; give birth" (see infer).
The shift from -th- to -d- took place beginning 12c. (cf. murder). Archaic burthen is occasionally retained for the specific sense of "capacity of a ship." Burden of proof is recorded from 1590s.
burden
n.2
"leading idea," 1640s, a figurative use from earlier sense "refrain or chorus of a song," 1590s, originally "bass accompaniment to music" (late 14c.), from Old French bordon "bumble-bee, drone," or directly from Medieval Latin burdonom "drone, drone bass" (source of French bourdon, Spanish bordon, Portuguese bordão, Italian bordone), of echoic origin.