heartstrings

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English

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WOTD – 4 September 2024

Etymology

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PIE word
*ḱḗr

From Late Middle English hartestrynges, hert strynges,[1] from Middle English herte (“heart”)[2] + strenges, strynges (“cords, strings”).[3] The English word is analysable as heart +‎ strings.[4]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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heartstrings pl (normally plural, singular heartstring)

  1. (anatomy)
    1. (historical) The tendons or other structures resembling cords once thought to be attached to, or to brace, the heart; especially the aorta, pulmonary artery, and other large arteries connected to them; also, the diaphragm. [15th–19th c.]
      • [1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Substantyues”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio xxxix, recto, column 1; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:
        Harte ſtrynges uenies de cuevr.]
      • 1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “That there is but Onely One God”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 18:
        The Ueynes are ſpred foorth throughout the whole bodie, howbeit from one welhead, that is to ſay from the Liuer: ſo be the Sinews, howbeit from the Brayne; So likewiſe are the Heartſtrings, howbeit from the Heart.
      • 1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Symptomes of Maids, Nunnes, and Widows Melancholy”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Robert Young, Miles Flesher, and Leonard Lichfield and William Turner] for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 3, member 2, subsection 4, page 202:
        The midriffe and heart-ſtrings do burn and beat very fearfully, and vvhen this vapour or fume is ſtirred, flyeth upvvard, the heart it ſelf beats, is ſore grieved, and faints, […]
      • 1871 September (date written), Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Rose Mary”, in Ballads and Sonnets, London: Ellis and White, […], published 1881, →OCLC, part II, page 33:
        Once she sprang as the heifer springs / With the wolf's teeth at its red heart-strings: / First 'twas fire in her breast and brain, / And then scarce hers but the whole world's pain, / As she gave one shriek and sank again.
    2. (by extension) Synonym of chordae tendineae (“the cord-like tendons that connect the papillary muscles to the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve in the heart”)
      • 2002, “Applied Physiology A”, in Beryl Stretch, editor, BTEC National Health Studies, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Heinemann Educational Publishers, →ISBN, page 481:
        The atrioventricular valves are prevented from turning inside out by strands of connective tissue, which run from their underside to the walls of the ventricle. These are the so-called heartstrings or chordae tendin[e]ae.
      • 2005, “Section 2: Heart”, in The Facts on File Illustrated Guide to the Human Body: Heart and Circulatory System, New York, N.Y.: Facts on File, →ISBN, page 40:
        Joined to the free ends of the AV [atrioventricular] valves are a number of cords called chordae tendineae (heart strings) attaching them to muscles in the wall of the ventricle. The heart strings keep the AV flaps pointing in the direction of the blood flow, stopping them being turned "inside out" and forced through the atria. The semilunar valves do not have heart strings. Blood flowing the wrong way makes the cusps balloon out so that their edges seal tight.
      • 2014 February 15, Crissy Shreve, chapter 5, in BMom: Lovely Weeds, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 56:
        [M]y precious Toby Chihuahua, soon to be twelve years old, had a heart attack. As a result, one or more of his chordae tendineae, or heartstrings, ruptured. Until very recently, this condition was curtains for a dog, but new meds are keeping him alive for now.
  2. (figurative)
    2. The source of one's deepest emotions or inner feelings, especially compassion or love. [from 16th c.]
      The sad eyes of the orphan tugged at my heartstrings.
    3. (archaic) The essential or vital part of something; the core, the essence, the heart.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:gist

Usage notes

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Sense 2.1 (“source of one’s deepest emotions or inner feelings”) is often used with words like play, pull, and tug, drawing an analogy between heartstrings and the strings of a musical instrument.[4]

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “heartstring, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “herte, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ “streng, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 “heartstring, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2024.

Further reading

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