onus
n.n. the duty or responsibility to do something. It is the part of a task that you must handle yourself.
n. the duty or burden of proof, responsibility, or action. Often used in legal or formal contexts to describe the obligation placed on a specific party.
The onus is on the defendant to prove their innocence.
In many legal cases, the onus of proof lies with the prosecution to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The onus of maintaining the historical site fell upon the local council, which struggled to secure the necessary funding for its preservation despite public interest.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃enh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃énh₂os Proto-Italic *onos Latin onuslbor. English onus Learned borrowing from Latin onus (literally “burden”).