heart

n. countable

A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈhɑɹt// UK //hˈɑːt// heart

Archaic General-service Humorous Informal

n. the organ in your chest that pumps blood through your body. It is also used to talk about the center of something or your deepest feelings.

n. a hollow muscular organ that pumps blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. Often used figuratively to represent the center of an object or the seat of human emotion.

SIMPLE

Exercise is good for your heart.

CONTEXTUAL

The surgeon explained how the heart pumps oxygenated blood to every part of the body during the procedure.

COMPLEX

At the heart of the city lies a historic square where ancient traditions continue to thrive despite the surrounding modern development.

Synonyms

Origin

PIE word *ḱḗr From Middle English herte, from Old English heorte (“heart”), from Proto-West Germanic hertā, from Proto-Germanic hertô (“heart”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱérd (“heart”). Doublet of cardia; see also core. Most of the modern figurative senses (such as passion or compassion, spirit, inmost feelings, especially love, affection, and courage) were present in Old English. However, the meaning “center” dates from the early 14th century. The verb sense “to love” is from the 1977 I ❤ NY advertising campaign. Notes on spelling The spelling ⟨ear⟩ for /ɑː(ɹ)/ is paralleled by hearken and hearth, but is problematics since a Early Modern variant with /ɛːr/ can be posited for those words, but not heart. Perhaps it represents Middle Scots hart /hɛːrt/ (reflecting the Scots lengthening of /a/ before /r/ then a consonant, then the early actuation of the Great Vowel Shift in Scots) or a parallel development in Northern England. Alternatively, a back-spelling by speakers of dialects where preconsonantal /ɛːr/ was shortened early, allowing it to undergo the late Middle English lowering to /ar/ (reflected in forms such as larn "learn") is possible.

Usage

Commonly used in the phrase 'at the heart of' to describe the central or most important part of a problem or location.

Idioms34 entries