onus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a responsibility, duty, or burden placed on someone

   The onus is on the applicant to provide accurate documents.

2. 2
   noun

   law and argument: the burden of proving or disproving a claim

   Once the contract was produced, the onus of disproof shifted to the defendant.

A learned borrowing from Latin onus ('burden, load, obligation'). English retained the concrete metaphor of carrying a burden while specializing it for responsibility and, in legal or argumentative contexts, the burden of proof.

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