heartstrings

English

Alternative forms

• heart-strings

Etymology

From heart +‎ strings.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈhɑːtstɹɪŋz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

heartstrings (plural only)

1. (obsolete, anatomy) The tendons once thought to brace the heart. [15th-19th c.]
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, I.iii.2.4:

     The midriff and heart-strings do burn and beat very fearfully, and when this vapour or fume is stirred, flieth upward, the heart itself beats [...].

2. (figuratively) One's deepest emotions or inner feelings. [from 16th c.]

Translations

the tendons once thought to brace the heart

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 心弦 (cmn) (xīnxián)

• Japanese: 琴線 (ja) (きんせん, kinsen)
• Russian: сердечные струны (serdéčnyje strúny) f pl

one's deepest emotions or inner feelings

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 心弦 (cmn) (xīnxián)

• Japanese: 琴線 (ja) (きんせん, kinsen)
• Russian: глубочайшие чувства (glubočájšije čústva) n pl, тайники души (tajnikí duší) m pl