onus

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Latin onus (“burden”).

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

onus (countable and uncountable; plural onuses)

  1. A legal obligation.
    The onus is on the landlord to make sure the walls are protected from mildew.
  2. (uncountable) Burden of proof, onus probandi
    The onus is on those who disagree with my proposal to explain why.
  3. Stigma.
    • 1993, Dorothy Mermin, Godiva's Ride: Women of Letters in England, 1830-1880, page 19:
      Geraldine evades the onus of ambition by subordinating it to the service of her family, and escapes the onus of sexuality by bodily mutilation
  4. Blame.
    • 1977, Daniel Yergin, Shattered Peace: The Origins of the Cold War and the National Security State, page 6:
      ... what might be called "onus-shifting" — each side trying to make a record and place blame on the other for the division of Europe and the Cold War itself.
  5. Responsibility; burden.
    • 2000, Beatles; Brian Roylance, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, The Beatles Anthology, page 174:
      The onus isn't on us to produce something great every time. The onus is on the public to decide whether they like it or not.

[edit] Related terms

[edit] Translations

legal obligation
burden of proof
stigma
blame

[edit] Anagrams

[edit] Latin

[edit] Noun

onus (genitive oneris); n, third declension

  1. burden, load

[edit] Inflection

Number Singular Plural
nominative onus onera
genitive oneris onerum
dative onerī oneribus
accusative onus onera
ablative onere oneribus
vocative onus onera

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Descendants

Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=onus&oldid=12804100"
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