beast of burden
 馱畜,馱載用的大牲口


 Bur·den n. [Written also burthen.]
 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. Mining The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
 5. Metal. The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
 6. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
 7. A birth. [Obs. & R.]
 Beast of burden, an animal employed in carrying burdens.
 Burden of proof [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.
 Syn: -- Burden, Load.
 Usage: A burden is, in the literal sense, a weight to be borne; a load is something laid upon us to be carried. Hence, when used figuratively, there is usually a difference between the two words. Our burdens may be of such a nature that we feel bound to bear them cheerfully or without complaint. They may arise from the nature of our situation; they may be allotments of Providence; they may be the consequences of our errors. What is upon us, as a load, we commonly carry with greater reluctance or sense of oppression. Men often find the charge of their own families to be a burden; but if to this be added a load of care for others, the pressure is usually serve and irksome.


 beast of burden
      n : an animal such as a donkey or ox or elephant used for
          transporting loads or doing other heavy work [syn: jument]