hearth

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
  2. noun home symbolized as a part of the fireplace
  3. noun an area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room)

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

fireplace, open fireplace

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