heartstringn.
/ˈhɑːtstrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈhɑrtˌstrɪŋ/ 1. Any cord-like structure attached to or believed to support the heart; esp. (in plural) the aorta and pulmonary artery and their large branches. In early use also: †the diaphragm (obsolete). Usually in plural. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > sinew, tendon, or ligament > types of sinew, tendon, or ligament > [noun] > of heart
heartstringa1425
chordae tendineae1807
a1425 ( H. Daniel Liber Uricrisiarum (Wellcome 225) 123 (MED) Mony wenys þat þe arteriis are þe hert strynges & þe longe pypys.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 61 A hartestrynge, precordia.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement iii. f. xxxix/1 Harte strynges, uenies de cuevr.
?1545 C. Langton Introd. Phisycke f. xxxiii Next vndernethe this is διαϕραγμα, which the Latyne men call Transversum septum, or precordia: we may cal it an ouerthwart bridge or the hertstrynges.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. ii. 18 The Ueynes are spred foorth throughout the whole bodie, howbeit from one welhead, that is to say from the Liuer: so be the Sinewes, howbeit from the Brayne; So likewise are the Heartstrings, howbeit from the Heart.
1610 E. Gardiner Triall of Tabacco f. 14 Their skinne rough: their heart-strings and veines bigge and apparant, and not lying hidden vnder the flesh.
1643 W. Prynne Romes Master-peece (1644) 34 Stabbing [him] first in the mouth, next in the heart-strings.
1671 J. Blagrave Astrol. Pract. Physick 85 Continual augmenting feavers, with extensions of the precordiacks and heart-strings, or arteries.
1735 J. Moore Columbarium 53 He had felt the Torments of it in his Body ever since, and that at times it brought on him very dolorous Pains, and that then it was going to break his very heart Strings.
1798 W. Belcher Intellect. Electr. 101 Terror immediately, electrically in my opinion, strikes on the heartstrings and stomach.
1838 Barn-yard Rhymes 54 It is because no mortal can Get the inside of a man, Unless it be the surgeons—they Can almost with the heart-strings play.
1881 D. G. Rossetti Ballads & Sonnets (1882) 33 Once she sprang as the heifer springs With the wolf's teeth at its red heart-strings.
1911 P. A. Robin Old Physiol. in Eng. Lit. 61 It was thought that violent emotion might rupture the heart-strings.
2. Usually in plural.
a. This structure viewed as the source of a person's most intense feelings or emotions, esp. of love or compassion. Chiefly in figurative contexts directly referring to sense 1, esp. in to tug (also pull) at the heartstrings and variants: to move deeply.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > seat of the emotions > [noun] > breast or heart > inmost heart or bottom of heart
groundc1175
heart-roota1200
roota1200
heartstring1533
heart of hearts1604
heart's core1604
recess1605
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani viji. sig. Eviv Ye & in my spiryte & my hert strynges [L. in praecordijs meis] I wyll wake in the mornynges for to please the.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. vi. sig. F4v Her hart did leape, and all her hart-strings tremble. View more context for this quotation
a1627 J. Fletcher & T. Middleton Nice Valour i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ttt4/1 The falsest woman, That ever broke mans heart-strings.
1670 J. Dryden Tyrannick Love v. i. 57 She's gone, and pull'd my heart-strings as she went.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. xii. 79 A young Woman, whom he loved as tenderly as he did his Heartstrings . View more context for this quotation
1766 J. Beattie Poems Several Subj. 114 That thing made of sound and show..Will make your very heartstrings ake.
1814 M. Faraday Let. 14 Apr. in P. Day Philosopher's Tree (1999) iii. 52 Let them look about the world unencumbered by such ties and heart-strings.
1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. S. Afr. Introd. 3 By his..winning ways he made the heartstrings of his children twine around him.
1918 L. D. Goldsberry Ted & Other Stories 146 They listened; the baby sucking in its sleep. Sound that pulls a woman's heart-strings.
1971 Times 28 Dec. 5/2 He gets down to his real purpose of twisting the occasional heartstring.
2003 Hist. Teacher 37 124 The letters are sure to tug at the heartstrings of even the most stoic readers.
b. With punning allusion to stringed musical instruments. Frequently in to play (also strum, twang, etc.) on the heartstringsand variants: to move deeply.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > [noun] > chord of emotion
heartstring1602
chord1785
1602 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus v. i. 1982 [A fiddler sings] How can he play whose heart stringes broken are?
1668 D. Stokes Verus Christianus (new ed.) li. 207 No Musick can set anothers Heart-strings to the same tune with ours, so soon as this.
1728 A. Ramsay Poems II. 109 What tuneless Heart-strings wadna twang, When Love and Beauty animates thy Sang?
a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 301 Heav'n send your heart-strings ay in tune! An' screw your temper-pins aboon.
1878 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David V. Ps. cxi. 2 Our heart-strings are evermore getting out of tune.
1887 Lady M. Majendie Precautions III. ii. 47 I will play on your heart-strings as I used to do.
1964 I. Gershwin in Compl. Lyrics (1993) 383/1 If I'm all agitato, Ev'ry heartstring vibrato, Ev'ry look passionato—Who but you made me so?
1978 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 July 758/1 This book will stir your memories and twang a few heartstrings.
2010 J. Witcover J. Biden x. 150 His talent for strumming on the heartstrings of young Democratic yearnings.
3. In singular and (usually) in plural. The essence or core of something. Cf. heart n. 20. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > vital part or vitalizing influence
pitheOE
sap1526
quicka1566
lifeblood1582
heartstring1584
entelechy1603
heart1603
heart-blood1606
heart and soul1616
heart's-blooda1631
life's bloodc1635
1584 J. Rainolds & J. Hart Summe of Conf. ii. 74 The second commandement against the worship of Images... The words are sharpe, and rip the hart strings of your church.
1597 Bp. J. King Lect. Ionas xlviii. 660 Division had well-nigh broken of late the heart-strings of religion amongst vs.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 30 To seek out gemmes..we plucke the very heart-strings out of her [sc. the earth].
1652 R. Saunders Balm 72 The heart-strings of many of his answers and arguments are cut.
1770 in Universal Mag. Apr. 216/2 Your Majesty's servants have attacked our liberties in the most vital part: They have torn away the very heart-strings of the Constitution.
1778 D. Hartley Lett. Amer. War iv. 75 The universal exercise of the right of parliamentary taxation was the very heart-string of the whole empire.
1835 S. Warren Pop. & Pract. Introd. Law Stud. 15 The ‘amending hand’, however, has grasped, as it were, the very heart-strings of the law.
1859 W. E. Simms Speech on Organization of House 6/2 Gentlemen from the North hear the very heart-strings of the Union break, one by one.
1896 Daily News 4 June 6/2 The engineer..holding in his firm grasp the heartstrings of the ship.
1919 Texas Bankers Rec. June 10/2 The spirit of anarchy and the spirit of unrest are destined to sap the very vitals of our Government, the very heartstrings of progress.
Compounds
General attributive and objective.
ΚΠ
1915 Countryside Mag. & Suburban Life Jan. 7/2 It has been argued that the heart-string pulling puppy, fresh weaned and dependent on your love and care for his hourly existence, is most to be desired.
1962 Boys' Life Mar. 10/2 Jackie Wilson..offers a selection of heartstring-tuggers, including Stormy Weather, Try a Little Tenderness,..and Mood Indigo.
1992 Economist 9 May 48/2 The argument..is that the Fund and the Bank are instruments of American power, squeezing the poor as they preach the gospel of market economics. These people are heartstring-pluckers.
2002 N.Y. Times 12 May 2a 15/5 An action-filled comedy with requisite heartstring tugs in the best ‘Dumbo’ tradition.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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