hearth
n. countablen. the floor of a fireplace, usually made of stone or brick. It is often used to represent the idea of home and family comfort.
n. the floor of a fireplace, extending into a room; symbolically represents the domestic centre of a home.
The cat slept peacefully on the warm stone hearth.
After a long day of hiking in the cold, we gathered around the hearth to share stories and dry our boots.
In many traditional cultures, the hearth served as the literal and metaphorical heart of the household, providing both physical warmth and a communal space for ancestral storytelling.
From Middle English herth, herthe, from Old English heorþ, from Proto-West Germanic herþ, from Proto-Germanic herþaz, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃- (“heat; fire”). Cognate with West Frisian hurd, Dutch haard, German Herd, Swedish härd.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often used metonymically to refer to the home or family life.
- Nounhearth
- Nounhearthstone
Last updated May 8, 2026