burden: There are two distinct words burden in English. By far the older, ‘load’, comes from Old English byrthen. Like bear, birth, bairn, bier, barrow, and berth it goes back ultimately to an Indo-European base *bher-, which signified both ‘carry’ and ‘give birth’. Its immediate Germanic ancestor was *burthi-, which also gave German bürde ‘load’. The other burden, ‘refrain’, and hence ‘main theme’, is an alteration of an earlier bourdon [14], which was borrowed from Old French bourdon ‘bass pipe’. => bairn, barrow, bear, berth, bier, birth
burden (n.1)
"a load," Old English byreen "a load, weight, charge, duty;" also "a child;" from Proto-Germanic *burthinjo- "that which is borne" (cognates: Old Norse byrer, Old Saxon burthinnia, German bürde, Gothic baurtei), from PIE root *bher- (1) "to bear, to carry; give birth" (see infer).
The shift from -th- to -d- took place beginning 12c. (compare murder (n.), rudder). 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 bord?o, Italian bordone), of echoic origin.
雙語例句
1. I wouldn't call it a burden; I call it a responsibility.
我不覺得這是負擔；我覺得它是一種責任。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The developing countries bear the burden of an enormous external debt.
發展中國家背負著巨額外債。
來自柯林斯例句
3. A vastly disproportionate burden falls on women for child care.
照料孩子的重擔落在了女性身上。
來自柯林斯例句
4. Her death will be an impossible burden on Paul.
她的去世將給保羅帶來難以承受的打擊。
來自柯林斯例句
5. His business empire collapsed under a massive burden of debt.