Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “heart” come from?

Heart descends from Middle English herte, Old English heorte, Proto-Germanic herutaz, and Proto-Indo-European ḱḗr, whose original sense remains uncertain.

heart (English): A muscular organ that pumps blood through the...

Definitions

  1. A muscular organ that pumps blood through the...

Ancestry of “heart”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishherteThe heart; One's inner self; the mind or...
2Old Englishheorteheart
3Proto-West Germanichertāheart
4Proto-Germanichertôheart
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱḗrheart

Words derived from “heart”

  • sweetheart
  • heartfelt
  • heartbeat
  • heartland
  • disheartening
  • heartbreaking
  • heartbroken
  • heartbreak
  • heartrending
  • heartening
  • heartstrings
  • heartsick
  • heartwood
  • dishearten
  • hearten
  • Lionheart
  • heartthrob
  • heartworm
  • heartbreakingly
  • heartbreaker
  • greenheart
  • hearting
  • heartburning
  • heartsome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱḗr →