Meaning of hearth in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /hɑrθ/

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  1. Noun

    hearth

    Etymology

    Old English heorth, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch haard and German Herd

    Definitions

    1. an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built

    Examples

    • « the fireplace was so large you could walk inside it »
    • « he laid a fire in the hearth and lit it »
    • « the hearth was black with the charcoal of many fires »
  2. 2. home symbolized as a part of the fireplace

    Examples

    • « driven from hearth and home »
    • « fighting in defense of their firesides »
  3. 3. an area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room)

    Examples

    • « they sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire »

Famous quotes

  • « To be admitted to Nature's hearth costs nothing. None is excluded, but excludes himself. You have only to push aside the curtain. »
    Henry David Thoreau
  • « The real theater of the sex war is the domestic hearth. »
    Germaine Greer

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