3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Hearth  \Hearth\,  n.  [OE.  harthe,  herth,  herthe,  AS  heor?;  akin 
  to  D.  haard,  heerd,  Sw  h["a]rd,  G.  herd;  cf  Goth.  ha['u]ri 
  a  coal,  Icel.  hyrr  embers,  and  L.  cremare  to  burn.] 
  1.  The  pavement  or  floor  of  brick,  stone,  or  metal  in  a 
  chimney,  on  which  a  fire  is  made  the  floor  of  a 
  fireplace;  also  a  corresponding  part  of  a  stove. 
 
  There  was  a  fire  on  the  hearth  burning  before  him 
  --Jer.  xxxvi 
  22. 
 
  Where  fires  thou  find'st  unraked  and  hearths 
  unswept.  There  pinch  the  maids  as  blue  as  bilberry. 
  --Shak. 
 
  2.  The  house  itself  as  the  abode  of  comfort  to  its  inmates 
  and  of  hospitality  to  strangers;  fireside. 
 
  3.  (Metal.  &  Manuf.)  The  floor  of  a  furnace,  on  which  the 
  material  to  be  heated  lies,  or  the  lowest  part  of  a 
  melting  furnace,  into  which  the  melted  material  settles. 
 
  {Hearth  ends}  (Metal.),  fragments  of  lead  ore  ejected  from 
  the  furnace  by  the  blast. 
 
  {Hearth  money},  {Hearth  penny}  [AS.  heor[eth]pening],  a  tax 
  formerly  laid  in  England  on  hearths,  each  hearth  (in  all 
  houses  paying  the  church  and  poor  rates)  being  taxed  at 
  two  shillings;  --  called  also  {chimney  money},  etc 
 
  He  had  been  importuned  by  the  common  people  to 
  relieve  them  from  the  .  .  .  burden  of  the  hearth 
  money.  --Macaulay. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  hearth 
  n  1:  an  open  recess  in  a  wall  at  the  base  of  a  chimney  where  a 
  fire  can  be  built  [syn:  {fireplace},  {open  fireplace}] 
  2:  a  part  of  the  fireplace  taken  as  a  symbol  (synecdoche)  for 
  home;  "driven  from  hearth  and  home";  "fighting  in  defense 
  of  their  firesides"  [syn:  {fireside}] 
  3:  an  area  near  a  fireplace  (usually  paved  and  extending  out 
  into  a  room)  [syn:  {fireside}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Hearth 
  Heb.  ah  (Jer.  36:22,  23;  R.V.,  "brazier"),  meaning  a  large  pot 
  like  a  brazier,  a  portable  furnace  in  which  fire  was  kept  in  the 
  king's  winter  apartment. 
 
  Heb.  kiyor  (Zech.  12:6;  R.V.,  "pan"),  a  fire-pan. 
 
  Heb.  moqed  (Ps.  102:3;  R.V.,  "fire-brand"),  properly  a  fagot. 
 
  Heb.  yaqud  (Isa.  30:14),  a  burning  mass  on  a  hearth. 
 

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