warm the cockles of someone's heart
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
First documented use in 1671. Corruption of Latin cochleae (“ventricles”) in cochleae cordis (“ventricles of the heart”).[1][2] Earlier attempt to explain the etymology no longer noted in reference works: Possibly due to resemblance of cockles to hearts.[2]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
warm the cockles of someone's heart (third-person singular simple present warms the cockles of someone's heart, present participle warming the cockles of someone's heart, simple past and past participle warmed the cockles of someone's heart)
- (idiomatic) To provide happiness, to bring a deeply-felt contentment.
- 1671 John Eachard:[3]
- This contrivance of his did inwardly rejoice the cockles of his heart.
- 1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, H. T. Willetts, transl., August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 214:
- “Surname?” ¶ “Blagodarev.” ¶ A handy name, easy to get hold of, and the ready way he gave it warmed the cockles of the heart.
- 1671 John Eachard:[3]
Synonyms[edit]
- (to provide happiness): warm someone's heart
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to provide happiness to someone
|
References[edit]
- ^ American Heritage Idioms Dictionary
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michael Quinion (3 August 2002), “Cockles of your heart”, in World Wide Words.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.