Etymologically
Log in

hearty

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word hearty

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1375 before 1375, William of Palerne
Ultimate origins
Proto-Germanic *hertāEnglish -y
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Old English heorte
English heart
English hearty
From the same root
English heartbreak ← heart
English heartbroken ← heart
English sweetheart ← heart

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈhɑːti/[1]
  • US: /ˈhɑɹti/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English herti,[2][3] formed from English heart + -y.[4][5][6][7] The Middle English Dictionary derives it from herte, heart,[2] and Etymonline takes the noun in its broad figurative senses (courage, feeling, mind) as the base.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Courageous, bold, and of an animal, spirited: before 1375, in William of Palerne.[4] The Middle English Dictionary also records the senses cordial or fervent, loyal or well-disposed, and wise, and a use as a noun for brave men.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word followed the figurative senses of heart as the seat of courage, feeling and understanding.[5][4] The sense "bold" died out in the 16th century, and "wise, knowledgeable", recorded in the early Wycliffite Bible, did not last.[4] From the 15th century it described kindly, cordial feeling (1440) and sincere, heartfelt sentiment (before 1460);[4] in the 16th century it added energetic zeal (c. 1540) and vigorous physical action (1665).[4] Johnson (1755) defined it first as sincere, warm and zealous.[8] The sense of food that is rich and nourishing appears about 1550,[4] or in the 1610s according to Etymonline,[5] and the sense "healthy, robust", as in hale and hearty, in 1552.[4][9] In Scotland the word also meant slightly drunk (1695),[4] a slang sense that Green's Dictionary of Slang dates in England and Ireland from about 1800.[10] The noun hearty, a brave fellow or comrade, used especially in addressing sailors (my hearties), is recorded from 1835;[3][6] in early 20th-century university slang a hearty was a sporty, outgoing student as opposed to an aesthete.[6][3] In Scottish, Irish and English dialect hearty meant in good health or high spirits, and in south Lancashire it was used as an intensive, "very".[11]

Timeline

  • before 1375 – courageous, bold (obsolete by 1569).[4][2]
  • 1440 – cordial, kind, friendly.[4]
  • before 1460 – heartfelt, sincere.[4]
  • c. 1540 – zealous, eager, energetic.[4]
  • c. 1550 – of food, rich and nourishing.[4]
  • 1552 – healthy, robust.[4]
  • 1665 – of a physical action, vigorous.[4]
  • 1695 – Scottish, slightly drunk.[4]
  • 1755 – jovial, fond of good company.[4]
  • 1835 – noun, a brave fellow, a comrade; used to sailors.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Warm, cordial and open in manner: The innkeeper gave the travellers a hearty welcome.[9][3]
  2. Done with energy and enthusiasm; vigorous: a hearty laugh.[9][3][4]
  3. Sincerely and strongly felt; heartfelt: They had a hearty dislike of formality.[9][4]
  4. Healthy and strong, especially in the phrase hale and hearty.[9][4]
  5. Of food or a meal, ample and nourishing: a hearty stew.[9][4][3]
  6. Loyal and wholehearted in support: a hearty supporter of the reform.[3][6]
  7. (obsolete) Courageous, bold.[4][2]

Noun

  1. (informal) A comrade or fellow, especially a sailor; often in the plural as a form of address: Heave away, my hearties![9][3]
  2. (chiefly British) A loud, outgoing person who loves sport, as opposed to an aesthete.[9][3][6]

Word family

  • heartiness
  • heartily
  • overhearty
  • superhearty
  • unheartily
  • unhearty

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
Cite this entry

“Hearty.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/hearty. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·