Purple Heart
28
4.1
- noun
- /ˈpɜrpl hɑrt/
- Formal
:
Purple Heart
- Nicholas McCallon received a Purple Heart during his time in Iraq after being injured by an IED.
He rewrote with Photoshop a Purple Heart award for you.
- He rewrote with Photoshop a Purple Heart award for you.
- He's like a a war veteran Purple Heart recipient.
- You know, he's got, he's had eight Purple Hearts from Vietnam, right?
- He got himself a Purple Heart after getting shot up while in Iraq.
- You know, I, I mean, my grandfather had five Purple Hearts and that.
- He's the only president who won the Purple Heart.
- He had he was the only president who and this one, he was senator, by the way, who received the Purple Heart.
- I just found out my grandfather had a Purple Heart, you know, and seeing a knife in my garage at my God, was my grandfather's.
- We're we're now just downplaying the Purple Heart to this Jesus Christ.
- You know, the Purple Heart hearts that were given out to the guys in the task force were from, you know, shrapnel.
Examples
-
The first man in our unit to receive a Purple Heart was an enlisted man.
Fiction book (1994) -
For his heroics, Poschner received a Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Cross.
Academic text (2014) -
We're gonna have to put you in for the Purple Heart.
-
I got a Purple Heart.
-
But I see you got a Purple Heart and the Silver Star.
Academic text (2007) -
But I also wonder about how many soldiers have never received Purple Hearts because there are no records.
Blog text (11) -
Think what a combat ribbon or a Purple Heart would mean to you.
-
Ellison was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.
Academic text (2014) -
I have been on multiple deployments, and I am a recipient of the Purple Heart in combat.
Blog text (17) -
Specialist Coyne, now retired from the military, received a Purple Heart for his injury.
Synonyms
1
6.0
A United States military medal that is given to service members wounded or killed in combat
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is the proper name of a specific U.S. military decoration; the literal constituents 'purple' (a color) and 'heart' (organ/emotion) do not indicate a medal or the notion of being wounded or killed in action. The meaning is lexicalized and culture-specific rather than compositional, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not reliably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Purple Heart comes from an old American badge that was a small piece of purple cloth cut into a heart shape by George Washington to honour brave soldiers. When the medal was created again later, it kept that purple heart look, so today it is given to members of the armed forces who are 'wounded or killed'.