ENCUM'BRANCE, noun A load; any thing that impedes motion, or renders it difficult and laborious; clog; impediment. 1. Useless addition or load. Strip from the branching Alps their piny load, The huge encumbrance of horrific wood. 2. Load or burden on an estate; a legal claim on an estate, for the discharge of which the estate is liable.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI