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hearth

hearth

11 8.4
A person's home and family life where they feel warm and safe
  • noun
  • /hɑrθ/
  • Literature
translation icon : hogar
  • Oh, defenders of home and hearth!
  • hearth and home
  • hearth or the family

Why is Hestia the goddess of the hearth, you know, is there an explanation for that?

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Examples

  • The cozy cottage had a beautiful hearth where the children would tell stories on cold nights.

  • During the harsh winter months, the family gathered around the hearth for warmth and companionship.

  • What brings you from your hearth on a night like this?

  • You will like the warm fire upon the hearth... ...and the long, long nights.

  • But Uncle Mac said no woman should leave her own hearth and husband in June.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Jimmy sat alone on the hearth, looking at the round black rock.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • There was a fire crackling in a hearth of river stone.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • It was around this hearth that the king would have feasted and held councils.

  • There were religious revivals which redefined womanhood and women's rightful place as hearth and home.

  • Traditions were shared among relatives as they sat by the hearth, creating a sense of home and belonging.

Synonyms

fireplace
vshearth
190 1.0

An open space in a wall where you make a fire to heat a room or for decoration

is the literary word that also means the floor and family life
fireside
vshearth
  • Literature
3 3.4

The home as a place of warmth and family life

is the literary term that also names the fire area floor
hearthstone
vshearth
1 7.9

A flat stone that forms the floor of a fireplace and the area in front

is the general literary term for floor or for family life
ingle
vshearth
  • Archaic
9.9

A fireplace in an old house where people burn wood to warm the room

is the literary term that also names home and family life
3.7

The main place or person in a home that makes people feel warm and come together

is a literary name for the floor or for family life
Penates
vshearth
  • Archaic
9.9

The home where a family feels safe and comfortable

is the older term that means home or family life generally

Compounds

hearth money
  • Archaic
9.9

An annual payment Catholic families give to support the pope

open-hearth
  • Archaic
9.5

Steel that people make by heating iron in a large furnace

8.1

A large hot oven that makes steel by heating metal on a shallow bed with flames above

8.2

A way of making steel by melting iron and scrap metal in a large open furnace

Comforting heat and coziness from a fireplace that makes you feel at home

Surface Forms

hearth singular
hearths plural

Etymology

Hearth came to mean a person's 'home' because families long ago cooked, ate, and sat around the hearth for warmth and comfort. A helpful way to remember this is to think of the hearth like the heart of the home, the central place of warmth and family.