HEART

I. noun Etymology: Middle English hert, from Old English heorte; akin to Old High German herza ~, Latin cord-, cor, Greek kardia Date: before 12th century 1. a hollow muscular organ of vertebrate animals that by its rhythmic contraction acts as a force pump maintaining the circulation of the blood, a structure in an invertebrate animal functionally analogous to the vertebrate ~, breast , bosom , something resembling a ~ in shape, 2. a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a red ~, the suit comprising cards marked with ~s, a game in which the object is to avoid taking tricks containing ~s, 3. personality , disposition , intellect , the emotional or moral as distinguished from the intellectual nature: as, generous disposition ; compassion , love , affections , courage , ardor , one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations , 6. the central or innermost part ; center , the essential or most vital part of something, the younger central compact part of a leafy rosette (as a head of lettuce), II. transitive verb Date: before 12th century ~en , to fix in the ~