heart English · revision 3639

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Old English heorte)|origins=ine-pro *kerd-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /hɑːt/, US /hɑːrt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|herte]], [[inh|ang|heorte]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*hertan-]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*kerd-|t=heart]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) Its relatives include [[de|Herz]], [[nl|hart]] and [[non|hjarta]], and outside Germanic [[la|cor]], [[grc|καρδία|tr=kardía]], Old Irish [[m|sga|cride]] and Hittite [[m|hit|kardi]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024) English has [[cardiac]] from the Greek^(Cresswell 2021) and [[cordial]], [[courage]], [[accord]], [[concord]], [[discord]] and [[record]] from the Latin.^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The organ that pumps blood; also the breast, the soul and spirit, the will, courage and the mind: Old English ''heorte'', about 725.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Most of the figurative senses were already present in Old English, including the heart as the seat of feeling, love and courage, and as the seat of memory, which survives only in ''by heart'' (late 14th century).^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The inner part of anything is the ''heart'' from the 13th^(Hoad 1986) or early 14th century,^(Etymonline) the heartwood of a tree from 1324,^(HTOED) and the conventional heart shape from 1446.^(HTOED) The spelling ''ea'' dates from about 1500, when it stood for a long vowel; the pronunciation later changed but the spelling stayed.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Wear one's heart on one's sleeve'' is from the early 17th century, perhaps from the favour a knight tied to his sleeve.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Heart attack'' is from 1875.^(Etymonline) The Old English verb ''hiertan'', “to give heart to”, was replaced by ''hearten'',^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) and the verb “to love”, as in ''I heart New York'', is from about 1993, after a New York State tourist campaign that used a heart symbol for “love”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''heorte''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 13th century – the inner part.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1324 – heartwood.^(HTOED)

+ * late 14th century – ''by heart''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1446 – the heart shape.^(HTOED)

+ * c. 1500 – the spelling ''heart''.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 17th century – ''wear one's heart on one's sleeve''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1875 – ''heart attack''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1993 – verb, to love.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The hollow muscular organ that pumps [[blood]] through the body.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The seat of the emotions, especially love; one's inmost feelings.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Compassion; capacity for sympathy.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Courage, [[resolution]]: ''lose heart''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The central or vital part of something; the [[core]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A shape like a heart, or a playing card of the suit marked with such shapes.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(informal)'' To love.^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(archaic)'' To [[hearten]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cardiac]]

+ * [[cordial]]

+ * [[courage]]

+ * [[core]]

+ * [[record]]

+ * [[hearten]]

+ * [[hearty]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}