heart

[[t]hɑrt[/t]]

n.

1) anat. a muscular organ in vertebrates (four-chambered in mammals and birds, three-chambered in reptiles and amphibians, and two-chambered in fishes) that receives blood from the veins and pumps it through the arteries to oxygenate the blood during its circuit

2) zool. any analogous contractile structure in invertebrate animals

3) the center of the total personality, esp. with reference to intuition, feeling, or emotion:

In your heart you know it's true[/ex]

4) the center of emotion, esp. as contrasted to the head as the center of the intellect

5) capacity for sympathy; feeling; affection:

His heart moved him to help the needy[/ex]

6) spirit, courage, or enthusiasm:

I don't have the heart to tell him; to lose heart[/ex]

7) the innermost or central part of anything:

in the heart of Paris[/ex]

8) the vital or essential part; core:

the heart of the matter[/ex]

9) the breast or bosom

10) a person (used esp. in expressions of praise or affection):

dear heart[/ex]

11) a conventional shape with rounded sides meeting in a point at the bottom and curving inward to a cusp at the top

12) gam a red figure or pip of this shape on a playing card

13) gam a card of the suit bearing such figures

14) gam hearts

a) (used with a sing. or pl. v.) the suit so marked

b) (used with a sing. v.) a game in which the players try to take all the hearts or to avoid taking tricks containing any of them

15) tex a strand running through the center of a rope, the other strands being laid around it

16) archaic

a) to fix in the heart

b) to encourage

•

- at heart break someone's heart by heart eat one's heart out have a heart have at heart have one's heart in one's mouth have one's heart in the right place in one's heart of hearts lose one's heart to near or close to one's heart set one's heart at rest set one's heart on, to wish for intensely; determine on. Also, have one's heart set on. take to heart take heart wear one's heart on one's sleeve

Etymology: bef. 900; ME herte, OE heorte, c. OS herta, OHG herza, ON hjarta, Go hairtō; akin to L cor (see cordial), Gk kardía (see cardio-)