noun, plural o·nus·es.
- a difficult or disagreeable obligation, task, burden, etc.
- burden of proof.Compare onus probandi.
- blame or responsibility.
noun Latin.
- the burden of proof.
noun plural onuses
- a responsibility, task, or burden
noun
- law the Latin phrase for burden of proof
n.1640s, from Latin onus “load, burden,” figuratively “tax, expense; trouble, difficulty,” from PIE *en-es- “burden” (cf. Sanskrit anah “cart, wagon”). Hence legal Latin onus probandi (1722), literally “burden of proving.”