English Explanatory Dictionary

hearth

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos, fireplace, oven, smoke hood, or chimney.
  2. A hearthstone, either as standalone or as the floor of an enclosed fireplace or oven.
  3. A fireplace: an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire may be built.
  4. The lowest part of a metallurgical furnace.
  5. A brazier, chafing dish, or firebox.
  6. Home or family life.
  7. A household or group in some forms of the modern pagan faith Heathenry.

Pronunciation

/hɑːθ/ /hɑɹθ/ en-us-hearth.ogg /hɜːɹθ/ /hæθ/

Word forms

hearth hearths

Etymology

From Middle English herth, herthe, from Old English heorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *herþ, from Proto-Germanic *herþaz, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃- (“heat; fire”). Cognate with West Frisian hurd, Dutch haard, German Herd, Swedish härd.

Derived words

forehearth hearth and home hearth board hearthflame hearthful hearthless hearthlike hearth-penny hearthplace hearthrug hearthside hearthstead hearthstone hearth tax hearthward hearthwards multihearth open hearth open-hearth ore hearth rivet hearth Scotch hearth
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