Dictionary

heartwhole en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈhɑːthəʊl/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- Proto-Indo-European *ḱérd Proto-Germanic *hertô Proto-West Germanic *hertā Old English heorte Middle English herte English heart Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos Proto-Germanic *hailaz Proto-West Germanic *hail Old English hāl Middle English hol English whole English heartwhole From heart + whole.

Meanings

1. (archaic) Undismayed, not abashed or frightened; healthy.
   • #*:Nay nay saide sire Tristram / Dynadan / neuer drede the / for I am herte hole / & of this wounde I shal soone be hole by the mercy of god […]. 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xxxiiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book IX:
2. Not in love; romantically unattached.
   • She remained with her comrades till dusk, and participated with a certain zest in the dancing; though, being heart-whole as yet, she enjoyed treading a measure purely for its own sake; little divining when she saw "the soft torments, the bitter sweets, the pleasing pains, and the agreeable distresses" of those girls who had been wooed and won, what she herself was capable of in that kind. 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 27:
   • [T]he subject of love being artfully introduced by the widow, who had been directed to sound his inclinations, he rallied the passion with great ease and severity, and made no scruple of declaring himself heart-whole. 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
3. Wholehearted, sincere.

Forms