heart

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English [edit]

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Diagram of the human heart.
The Ace of Hearts.

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English herte, from Old English heorte (“heart”), from Proto-Germanic *hertô (“heart”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱḗr (“heart”). Germanic cognates: see *hertô. The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin cor, cordis, Greek καρδιά (kardiá), Welsh craidd, Irish croí, Armenian սիրտ (sirt), Russian сердце (serdce), Lithuanian širdis and Albanian kërthiz (“navel, central spot”).

Pronunciation [edit]

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Noun [edit]

heart (countable and uncountable; plural hearts)

  1. (anatomy) A muscular organ that pumps blood through the body, traditionally thought to be the seat of emotion.
  2. (uncountable) Emotions, kindness, moral effort, or spirit in general.
    The team lost, but they showed a lot of heart.
    • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion[1], page 266:
      In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
    • 2008, "Rights trampled in rush to deport immigrant workers," Quaker Action (magazine), vol. 89, no. 3, page 8:
      "We provided a lot of brains and a lot of heart to the response when it was needed," says Sandra Sanchez, director of AFSC's Immigrants' Voice Program in Des Moines.
    • 2011 September 2, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, BBC:
      The result still leaves Wales bottom of the group but in better heart for Tuesday night's trip to face England at Wembley, who are now outright leaders after their 3-0 win in Bulgaria.
    • Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. (Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943)
  3. A conventional shape or symbol used to represent the heart, love, or emotion: ♥ or sometimes <3.
    • 1998, Pat Cadigan, Tea From an Empty Cup, page 106:
      "Aw. Thank you." The Cherub kissed the air between them and sent a small cluster of tiny red hearts at her.
  4. A playing card of the suit hearts featuring one or more heart-shaped symbols.
  5. The centre, essence, or core.
    Buddhists believe that suffering is right at the heart of all life.
    • 2011 December 27, Mike Henson, “Norwich 0 - 2 Tottenham”, BBC Sport:
      Norwich's attack centred on a front pair of Steve Morison and Grant Holt, but Younes Kaboul at the heart of the Tottenham defence dominated in the air.
    • 1899, Robert Barr, The Strong Arm, ch. 3:
      At last she spoke in a low voice, hesitating slightly, nevertheless going with incisive directness into the very heart of the problem.


Derived terms [edit]

Terms derived from heart

Translations [edit]

an organ
emotions or kindness
a shape or symbol
a suit of cards
centre or core
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

heart (third-person singular simple present hearts, present participle hearting, simple past and past participle hearted)

  1. (transitive, poetic or humorous) To be fond of. Often bracketed or abbreviated with a heart symbol.
    • 1905, Capt. James, William Wordsworth (editor), Poems and Extracts, page 81
      I heart to pray their bones may rest in peace
    • 2001 April 6, Michael Baldwin, "The Heart Has Its Reasons", Commonweal
      We're but the sum of all our terrors until we heart the dove.
    • 2006, Susan Reinhardt, Bulldog doesn't have to rely on the kindness of strangers to draw attention, Citizen-Times.com
      I guess at this point we were supposed to feel elated she'd come to her senses and decided she hearts dogs after all.
    • 2008 January 30, "Cheese in our time: Blur and Oasis to end feud with a Stilton", The Guardian (London)
      The further we delve into this "story", the more convinced we become of one thing: We heart the Goss.
    • 2008 July 25, "The Media Hearts Obama?", On The Media, National Public Radio
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To give heart to; to hearten; to encourage.
    • Shakespeare
      My cause is hearted; thine hath no less reason.
  3. (transitive, masonry) To fill an interior with rubble, as a wall or a breakwater.
  4. (intransitive, agriculture, botany) To form a dense cluster of leaves, a heart, especially of lettuce or cabbage.

Synonyms [edit]

Statistics [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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