hearth 
That part of the floor of a room on which the 
fire is made, or upon or above which a recep- 
tacle for the fire rests: generally a pavement 
or floor of brick or stone below an opening in 
the chimney, as in a fireplace. That part of the 
hearth of a fireplace which is within the limits of the 
chimney i called the inner hearth ; its continuation be- 
yond these limits, as by a slab of stone, is the outer hearth. 
Baking their bread in cakes on the harth. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. 80. 
Where glowing embers through the room 
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom ; 
Far from all resort of mirth, 
Save the cricket on the hearth. 
Milton, II Peneeroso, 1. 82. 
The fire on the hearth has almost gone out in New Eng- 
land ; the hearth has gone out ; the family has lost its 
center. C. D. Warner, Backlog Studies, p. 1. 
Thus the worship of the Lares was the foundation and 
the support of the adoration of the hearth, which was in 
effect its altar, and the holy fire which forever burned 
there. IF. E. Hearn, Aryan Household, p. 64. 
2. The fireside ; the domestic circle ; the home. 
Now, this extremity 
Hath brought me to thy hearth. 
Shak., Cor., iv. 5. 
And Lamb, the frolic and the gentle, 
Has vanished from his lonely hearth. 
Wordsworth, Death of James Hogg. 
Household talk, and phrases of the hearth. 
Tennyson, Princess, ii. 
3. In metal. : (a) The floor in a reverberatory 
furnace on which the ore is exposed to the 
flame. See furnace, (b) The lowest part of 
a blast-furnace, through which the metal de- 
scends to the crucible. See furnace, (c) A 
bloomery. 4. Naut., the grate and apparatus 
for cooking on board ship. 5. In soldering: 
(a) An ordinary brazier or chafing-dish con- 
taining charcoal. (6) An iron box, about 2 
feet by 1 foot 6 inches deep, sunk in the mid- 
dle of a flat iron plate or table, measuring 
about 4 feet by 3 feet. It is provided with an air- 
blast, and has a hood above, to gather smoke and gases 
and carry them to the chimney. 
6. Inglass-niannf. See flattening-lieartli Open- 
hearth furnace. 'See open-hearth. 
hearth-cinder (harth' sin "der), . Slag pro- 
duced in the finery process. 
hearth-cricket (harth'krik''et), n. The com- 
mon house-cricket, Achcta domestica or Gryllus 
domesticus. See cut under cricket 1 . 
heart-heaviness (hart'hev"i-nes), n. Depres- 
sion of spirits. 
By so much the more shall I to-morrow be at the height 
of heart-heaviness. Shak., As you Like it, v. 2. 
heart-heavy (hart'hev"i), a. Sad-hearted; de- 
pressed in spirits. 
hearth-ends (harth'endz), n. pi. Impure ref- 
use from a lead-smelting furnace. 
Ore is mixed with a portion of the fuel and lime made 
use of in smelting, all of which are deposited upon the 
top of the Bmelting-hearth, and are called hearth-ends. 
Ure, Diet., III. 60. 
hearth-money (harth 'mun"i), n. Same as 
hearth-tax. 
W. R. His Majesty having been informed that the rev- 
enue of the hearth-money is very grievous to the people, 
is therefore willing to agree to a regulation of it, or to the 
taking of it wholly away, as this house shall think most 
convenient. 
Parliamentary Hist., William and Mary, an. 1688-89. 
hearth-penny (harth'pen"i), . [ME. 'herth- 
peny,<.A.S. heorthpenig, -pening,<. hearth, hearth, 
-t- penig, pening, penny.] Same as hearth-tax. 
hearth-plate (harth'plat), n. A plate of cast- 
iron which forms the sole of the hearth of a 
forge or refining-furnace. 
hearth-rug (harth'rug), . A rug used or made 
to be used in front of a fireplace as a protec- 
tion for the floor or for a carpet. 
hearthstead (hiirth'sted), n. The place of the 
hearth. [Bare.] 
The most sacred spot upon earth to him was his father's 
hearth-stead. Southey, Doctor, xxxiv. 
hearthstone (hiirth'ston), w. [< ME. *harth- 
stone (once written hartetone); < hearth + 
stone."] 1. A stone forming a hearth. Hence 
2. The fireside. 
The denominational relations of a household will shape 
the future political positions of the young men growing 
around the hearth-stone, just as they did those of their 
fathers. .R. J. Hinton, Eng. Bad. Leaders, p. 65. 
I am going to my own hearth-stone, 
Bosomed in yon green hills alone. 
Emerson, Good-Bye. 
3. A soft kind of stone used to whiten door- 
steps, scour floors, etc. 
Lastly, there is the hearth-stone barrow, piled up with 
hearth-stone, Bath-brick, and lumps of whiting. 
Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, I. 29. 
2758 
hearthstone (harth'ston), v. t.; pret. and pp. 
heartlmtoned, ppr. hearthstoning. [< hearthstone, 
n., 3.] To scour, as a floor, with hearthstone. 
We've a woman come in twice a week to scrub, and red- 
brick, and hearthstone, and black-lead, and the rest we 
manage ourselves. 
Hallberger's Illustrated Mag. (1876), p. 202. 
hearth-tazt (harth'taks), n. A tax on hearths 
or chimneys: same as chimney-money. It existed 
in England from 1662 to 1689, and was after- 
ward reimposed for a time. 
In the mean time, to gratify the people, the hearth-tax 
was remitted for ever. Evelyn, Memoirs, March 8, 1689. 
heartily (har'ti-li), adv. [< ME. hertily, a var. 
of hertely, mod. E. (obs.) heartly (q. v.); now 
regarded as < hearty + -ly 2 .] In a hearty man- 
ner; from or with the heart; cordially; zeal- 
ously; eagerly. 
But I have heard that people eat most heartily of an- 
other man's meat that is, what they do not pay for. 
Wycherley, Country Wife, v. 1. 
No man ever prayed heartily without teaming some- 
thing. Emerson, Nature, p. 89. 
heartiness (har'ti-nes), n. The state or qual- 
ity of being hearty. 
This entertainment 
May a free face put on ; derive a liberty 
From heartiness, from bounty. Shak., W. T., 1. 2. 
heartingt, . [< ME. herting, hartyng; verbal 
n. of heart, v."\ Encouragement. 
God graunte vs or we come agayne 
Som gode hartyng ther-of to here. 
York Plays, p. 128. 
Certis, such hartyng haue we hadde, 
We schall nojt seys or we come thore. 
York Plays, p. 130. 
heart-leaf (hart'lef), . Same as heart-trefoil. 
heartless (hart'les), a. [< ME. herteles (= D. 
harteloos = MHO. herzelos, Or. herzlos = Dan. 
hiertelos = Sw. hjertlos), < herte, heart, + -les, 
-less.] 1. Without a heart. 
I, like a heartless ghost, 
Without the living body of my love, 
Will here walk and attend her. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, Iv. 6. 
2. Destitute of feeling or affection ; cruel : as, 
to treat one in a heartless manner. 
But Leolin cried out the more upon them 
Insolent, brainless, heartless .' 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
3. Destitute of courage ; spiritless; faint-heart- 
ed; cowardly. 
Fye on you, herteles. Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 88. 
He seemed breathlesse, hartlesse, faint, and wan. 
Spenser, . Q., II. vl. 41. 
The girl with pallid hands 
Was busy knitting in a heartless mood 
Of solitude. Wordsworth, Prelude, ix. 
= Syn. 2. See cruel. 
heartlessly (hart'les-li), adv. In a heartless 
manner, 
heartlessness (hart'les-nes), n. The state or 
quality of being heartless; want of affection 
or of courage. 
heartlet (hart'let), . [< heart + -let.'] A. little 
heart. Imp. Diet. 
heartlingt (hart'ling), n. [< heart + -lingl.~] 
A little heart : used in a minced oath. 
My will ? 'od's heartlings, that's a pretty jest Indeed ! I 
ne'er made my will yet, I thank heaven. 
Shak., M. W. of W., ill. 4. 
heart-liverleaf (hart'liv"er-lef), . See liver- 
leaf. 
hea'rtlyt, a. [< ME. hertely (= D. hartelijk = 
MLG. hertelik = MHG. herzelich, herzlich, G. 
herzlich = Dan. hjertelig = Sw. hjertlig), < herte, 
heart: see heart and -fy 1 .] 1. Of the heart, 
in the literal sense. 
The hethene harageous kynge appone the hethe lyggez, 
And of his hertly hurte helyde he never. 
Marie. Arthurs, MS. Lincoln, fol. 72. (Halliwell.) 
2. Of or from the heart ; hearty. 
I wol seye as I can 
With hertly wille. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Squire's Tale, 1. 27. 
heartlyt, adv. [< ME. hertely, hertelicht (= D. 
hartelijk = MLG. herteliken = MHG. herzelichen, 
G. herzlich = Dan. hjertelig = Sw. hjertlig), < 
hertely, adj.: see heartly, a.] Heartily. 
To these kynges he come & his cause tolde, 
And to haue of hor helpe hertely dissyred. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1020. 
The kynge be-heilde Vlfln, and saugh hym laugh herte- 
ly, and than he required hym to telle why he dide laugh 
so sore. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 169. 
heart-net (hart'net), n. The heart-shaped net 
or pound of a heart-seine. 
heart-shake 
heart-of-the-earth (hiirt'ov-the-erth'), . The 
plant self-heal, lirunclla nili/ni-ix. 
heart-pea (hart'pe), . Same as heartseed. 
heart-quake (hiirt'kwak), n. Trembling of the 
heart; tearfulness. 
It did the Grecians good to see ; but heart-quakes shook 
the joints 
Of all the Trojans. Chajiman, Iliad, vii. 187. 
He had been the safety of his subordinates in many an 
hour of danger and heart-quake. 
Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter, p. 12. 
heartrending (hart'ren'ding), a. Overpower- 
ing with anguish; deeply afflictive; very dis- 
tressing. 
heart-robbing (hart'roVing}, a. 1. Depriv- 
ing of heart or thought ; ecstatic. 
A melting pleasance ran through every part, 
And me revived with heart-robbing gladness. 
Spenser. 
2. Stealing the heart or affections ; winning. 
Drawn with the power of a heart-robbing eye. Spenser. 
heart-roott, [Early mod. E. also hartroote, 
< ME. heorterote (= Dan. hjerterod = Sw. hjert- 
rotj innermost heart); < heart + root.] The 
object of one's deepest love ; a sweetheart. 
Ever alacke, and woe is mee t 
Here lyes my sweete hart-roote. 
Old Robin of Portingale (Child's Ballads, III. 39). 
Pray for me, mine own heart-root in the Lord. 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 1S53X II. 178. 
heart-rot (hiirt'rot), . A disease which pro- 
duces a decay in the center or heart of trees, 
caused by the penetration of the mycelia of va- 
rious fungi which attack the tree either at the 
root or above ground. As the decay is at the center 
of the tree, the work of destruction may go on for years 
before the tree shows any outward sign of disease. It usu- 
ally attacks old trees, and may be produced by injudi- 
cious pruning which allows the entrance of the fungi. 
heart-scald (hart'skald), n. Heartburn ; figura- 
tively, a feeling of shame or aversion. [Prov. 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
Tho' cholic or the heart-scad tease us, ... 
It masters a' sic fell diseases. 
Fergusson, Caller Water. 
I put on a look, my lord, . . . that suld give her a heart- 
scald of walking on such errands. 
Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xiv. 
heart's-ease, heartsease (harts'ez), n. [< ME. 
hertes ese (two words), in def. 1.] 1. Ease of 
heart ; tranquillity of mind. Also heart-ease. 
I myght neuer be In hertes e*e till I hadde yow seyn. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), Hi. 478. 
What infinite heart's ease must kings neglect, 
That private men enjoy ! Shak., Hen. V., iv. 1. 
2. In bot. : (a) A popular and poetic name of 
plants of the genus Viola, especially V. trico- 
lor, the pansy, and V. lutea, the common yel- 
low violet of Europe. See pansy and violet. 
The name appears to have been transferred to these plants 
from the wallflower, Cheiranthus Cheiri, originally classed 
with the violets, being first used in the sense of "cordial " 
for a medicine prepared from violets, supposed to be 
good for troubles of the heart, (ft) I n some parts of 
the United States, the common persicary, peach- 
wort, lady's-thumb, or smartweed, Polygonum 
Persicaria. 
heartseed (hart'sed), . A general name of 
plants of the genus Cardiospernnim (of which 
name it is a translation), but more especially 
of C. Halicacabum, a beautiful vine well known 
in cultivation, which in the United States has 
received the appropriate name of balloon-vine, 
from the large, triangular, inflated fruit. See 
balloon-vine. The genus takes its name from the white 
heart-shaped scar which marks the attachment of the 
seed. It belongs to the natural order Sapindacea>, or soap- 
wort family. There are about 15 species, chiefly natives of 
tropical America ; but the C. Halicacabum and two other 
species have a wider distribution. The names heart-pea 
and ipinter-cherry are also given to these plants. In the 
Moluccas the seeds are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. 
They are also used in some countries as a remedy for lum- 
bago. The mucilaginous root is a laxative and diuretic, 
and is used in cases of rheumatism. 
heart-seine (hart'sen), n. A weir with a heart- 
shaped inclosure or pound, which will fish 
however the tide may run. [Narragansett 
Bay.] 
heart-service (hart'ser" vis), . Service prompt- 
ed by the heart; especially, zealous service to 
God; sincere devotion. 
We should be slow ... to deny the truth, force, and 
value of the heart-service which they f Dissenters] may and 
do render, and render with affectionate humility, to their 
Father and their God. Gladstone, Gleanings, I. 57. 
heart-shake (hiirt'shak), n. A defect in tim- 
ber consisting in cracks extending from the 
pith outward. 
In timber having much heart-shake, there is certain to 
be considerable waste in its conversion, especially if we 
wish to reduce the log Into plank and board. 
laslett, Timber, p. 26. 
