(1.) A load of any kind (Exodus 23:5).

(2.) A severe task (Exodus 2:11).

(3.) A difficult duty, requiring effort (Exodus 18:22).

(4.) A prophecy of a calamitous or disastrous nature (Isaiah 13:1; 17:1; Habakkuk 1:1, etc.).

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) That which is borne or carried; a load.

2. (n.) That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.

3. (n.) The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.

4. (n.) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.

5. (n.) The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.

6. (n.) A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.

7. (n.) A birth.

8. (v. t.) To encumber with weight (literal or figurative); to lay a heavy load upon; to load.

9. (v. t.) To oppress with anything grievous or trying; to overload; as, to burden a nation with taxes.

10. (v. t.) To impose, as a load or burden; to lay or place as a burden (something heavy or objectionable).

11. (n.) The verse repeated in a song, or the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain. Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic; as, the burden of a prayer.

12. (n.) The drone of a bagpipe.

13. (n.) A club.