heartbeatn.
/ˈhɑːtbiːt/, U.S. /ˈhɑrtˌbit/ 1. The contraction of the heart (or sequence of filling, contraction, and relaxation) by which blood is propelled around the body, esp. as heard or felt; the pulsation of blood through the arteries resulting from this; each successive contraction. Also: the rate or rhythm of the repeated contraction of the heart; an instance of this. Cf. heartthrob n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > heartbeat > [noun]
heartthrob1796
heartbeat1821
pump1869
1821 Athenaeum 15 Dec. 216 Fair hour,..when the heart-beat is soft as the sun's farewell beams, When the spirit is melting in tenderest dreams.
1843 N.Y. Jrnl. Med. 1 137 The woman had not for many hours felt the motion of the child, yet, by means of the stethoscope, the heart-beats of the child were clearly perceived.
1877 M. Foster Text Bk. Physiol. i. iv. 109 The average rate of the human pulse or heart-beat is 72 a minute.
1925 Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent 8 Dec. 4/3 The elasticity and muscular tone of the arteries carries the pressure wave along after each heart beat.
1993 Canad. Living Nov. 23/1 Atrial fibrillation (AF) is characterized by a rapid, irregular heartbeat.
2005 Baby & You Feb. 27/1 The baby is further reassured by the mum's familiar heartbeat, the soundtrack of early life.
2. figurative and in extended use.
a. A throb, pulse, or surge of emotion.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > [noun] > throb of emotion
heartbeat1827
throb1836
spasm1837
1827 Lady Morgan O'Briens & O'Flahertys III. iii. 115 He jumped into Lord Walter's carriage..and heard, with something like the heart-beat of pleasure, his order to the servant to drive to Tweedie and Lindsay's.
1883 J. L. Patterson Out of Sight xxiv. 242 With a heart-beat of satisfaction he was reminded of the ancestral grace of his family.
1902 S. E. Rogers Free Lance of Streets iii. ii. 173 He alone, probably, of all that curious throng, feeling one kindly heartbeat for their miserable fortunes.
1963 J. A. Huston Across Face of France iv. 66 After a long trip back to the north they had felt the exciting heartbeat of a return to home country.
2009 Daily Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 21 Mar. 32 Locked in a cell for up to 17 hours a day, you long for the smile and the heartbeat of love.
b. The life force, heart, or essence of something; an animating or vital energy. Cf. pulse n.2 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > vital principle > [noun]
souleOE
lifeOE
spiritusOE
bloodOE
ghostOE
life and soulOE
quickship?c1225
quicknessc1230
breatha1300
spirita1325
spark1382
naturec1385
sparkle1388
livelinessa1398
rational soula1398
spiracle1398
animal spirit?a1425
vital spiritc1450
soul of the world1525
candle1535
fire1576
three souls1587
vitality?1592
candlelight1596
substance1605
vivacity1611
animality1615
vividity1616
animals1628
life spring1649
archeus1651
vital1670
spirituosity1677
springs of life1681
microcosmetor1684
vital force1702
vital spark (also flame)1704
stamen1718
vis vitae1752
prana1785
Purusha1785
jiva1807
vital force1822
heartbeat1828
world-soul1828
world-spirit1828
life energy1838
life force1848
ghost soul1869
will to live1871
biogen1882
ki1893
mauri1897
élan vital1907
orgone1942
1828 Harrovian July 164 It comes—thrilling up like an odour-bird from the very heart-beat of the flowers, and waking every dreaming thought and passion into joy and music.
1886 Amer. Architect & Building News 4 Sept. 109/1 The extended arm of a pope is the heart-beat of the Roman Catholic world.
1893 Dial 16 May 305/1 One seems to catch something of the heart-beat of the times in the correspondence of these long-buried lovers.
1946 Life 23 Mar. 135/2 The juke box has well been called the heartbeat of the teen-age canteen.
1960 Rotarian Nov. 38/1 Religion is the heartbeat of the Far East. You feel it in the reflective nature of the people. You hear it in the sound of temple bells.
2005 Global Aug.–Sept. 25/1 Sydney is Australia's urban heartbeat, a scenic delight veined with rivers and surrounded by national parks and wilderness.
c. A regular, rhythmical sound resembling a heartbeat; a strong beat or rhythm underlying a piece of music.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > repeated sound or succession of sounds > [noun] > regular or alternating rhythm
cadence1667
throb throb1857
clip-clop1863
chip-chop1876
rum-tum1879
pom-pom1892
throb1892
heartbeat1898
bounce1937
plip-plop1953
1898 A. P. Henderson Rainbow's End xix. 263 The monotonous heartbeat of the engine, puffing with its exertions against the strong current, was the only sound.
1963 Amer. Bar Assoc. Jrnl. Nov. 1117/3 Anyone who ever..listened to the heartbeat of an early dollar watch..can appreciate the importance of checking vibration.
1973 Billboard 6 Oct. 22/5 His female guitarist and bassist building a powerful heartbeat behind him.
1990 G. G. Liddy Monkey Handlers xvi. 266 The unmistakable beat of a four-cylinder Lycoming..aircraft engine, the chunkety heartbeat of a later model of the..Cessna 172 high-wing monoplane.
2006 Time Out N.Y. 18 May 92/4 ‘Jah’ has Giorgio Moroder's arpeggiated heartbeat pulsing through it.
3.
a. With of. A very small amount; an iota, a jot. Chiefly in negative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > the smallest amount > a jot
cornc888
grotc888
prickleOE
prickOE
pointc1300
grain1377
hair1377
motec1390
twynt1399
mitec1400
tarec1405
drop1413
ace?1440
tittlea1450
whita1450
jot1526
Jack1530
plack1530
farthingc1540
minima1585
scintil1599
atom1626
scintillation1650
punct1653
doit1660
scintilla1674
rap1792
haet1802
dottle1808
smiggot1823
hooter1839
heartbeat1855
pick1866
filament1868
hoot1878
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > a particle
grotc888
crumba1387
motec1390
particlea1398
pointa1400
specka1400
atomy1584
moment1594
dust1597
pickle1604
mite1605
atom1626
iota1636
ramentum1658
bodikin1668
part1669
dustling1674
scintilla1674
minim1686
fleck1753
molecule1799
heartbeat1855
particule1889
1855 M. Fuller Woman in 19th Cent. (new ed.) ii. 211 Those who do not know one native heart-beat of my life.
1893 B. R. Davenport Crime of Caste xiv. 282 Poor Jacques had been so long deprived of one heart-beat of feeling that his bosom could no longer restrain the emotions of liberty and equality.
1909 Weekly Underwriter 9 Oct. 265/2 With every step forward, every heart beat of progress, advancement and development, fire insurance reaches out and grows in proportion.
1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xiii. 217 You don't give one heart-beat of real sympathy.
1993 W. J. Clinton in Public Papers Presidents U.S. 2090/2 If you never had a heartbeat of compassion, you would have to be nearly obsessed with this problem.
b. A time like that between each contraction of the heart; a very short space of time; an instant, a moment. Frequently in in a heartbeat: immediately, at once.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > immediately [phrase]
without restc1225
but bodea1300
without residence1488
before you know where you are1803
in a heartbeat1860
before (one) can say knife1874
1860 Atlantic Monthly Nov. 566/1 Mr. Lauderdale comprehended the whole matter at a heart-beat.
1864 Atlantic Monthly June 709/2 If once he had..let a smile well up and flood his eyes and lips and face, in a heart-beat it had faded.
1944 Boys' Life Apr. 24/4 In a heartbeat of time they had grown older.
1996 S. R. Donaldson This Day All Gods Die (1997) 474 After no more than a heartbeat of hesitation, Hyland conceded, ‘All right.’
2002 Fangoria Mar. 70/3 But give me a great script and a paycheck and I'll do it in a heartbeat.
Phrases
a heartbeat away: separated by the barest margin or interval; spec. (U.S.) with reference to the succession of the vice president to supreme office in the event of the serving president’s death.
ΚΠ
1894 Independent (N.Y.) 2 Mar. 3/3 The things seen are temporal but the things not seen are eternal, and they are only a few heartbeats away.
1920 H. Johnson in New Castle (Pa.) News 9 June 9/2 Any reports that I am to take second place on the Republican ticket..[are] just another suggestion..of some of my ‘friends’ who do not believe I am fit to be president, but want to place me just a heart beat away from the president.
1939 N.Y. Times 25 June (Book Review section) 5/5 Where is the pervasive melancholy that was hardly a heartbeat away from this boisterous laughter?
1968 Jet 3 Oct. 14 It remains to be seen whether the people will elect a Negro to any statewide office, let alone only a heartbeat away from the governor's office.
1992 Time 20 Jan. 14/1 The brief fainting spell brought to the fore concerns about the President's health and reminded voters that Dan Quayle remains only a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.
2010 R. G. Zyne Malchus One Ear 121 Strangely, this calm bothered Daniel. He knew in his gut that chaos was just a heartbeat away.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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