heart

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The organ in your chest that pumps blood around your body.

   After running, I could feel my heart beating fast.

2. 2
   noun

   The place where your feelings and emotions come from.

   She has a kind heart and always helps others.

3. 3
   noun

   The center or most important part of something.

   Her shop is in the heart of the old city.

4. 4
   noun

   Courage and determination to keep going in a hard situation.

   The team lost, but they showed a lot of heart.

5. 5
   noun

   A red shape symbolizing love; one of the four suits in a deck of cards.

   She drew a little heart next to her name.

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 an…

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