fardel

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   archaic or literary: a bundle carried as a load; figuratively, a burden

   The speech asked who would willingly bear such a fardel of troubles.

From Middle English fardel and Old French fardel, 'pack or bundle,' ultimately related to Spanish fardo, 'bundle.' Shakespeare's 'who would fardels bear?' helped preserve its literary figurative sense of a burden.

Topics