What does hearth mean?
Word: Hearth
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Hearth means the stone or brick floor of a fireplace, and the area just in front of it.
How do you spell hearth?
Syllables: hearth
Tricky part: The ar sound is spelt ear, as in heart, even though hearth does not rhyme with earth.
Watch out for: harth, herth, hearthe
Memory tip: Find the heart inside hearth: a warm fire was once the heart of every home.
Hearth in a sentence
Example 1: Grandma kept a brass pot of water warming on the hearth.
Example 2: Snow fell outside while we dried our socks near the hearth.
Example 3: The old farmhouse still has its original stone hearth.
Fun Fact
The Latin word for hearth was focus; English borrowed it, and today focus usually means the centre of attention.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. kindleing 2. chimeny 3. hearth 4. lanturn
a) the floor of a fireplace
b) a lamp in a case that you can carry
c) a pipe that takes smoke up through the roof
d) small sticks used to start a fire
Show answer
a) the floor of a fireplace. Chimney has no e before the y, lantern ends in ern, and kindling drops the e of kindle.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
On freezing nights in Febuary, Grandpa in Shimla still lights a fire in the hearth and roasts peanuts for all of us.
a) Febuary
b) peanuts
c) hearth
d) roasts
Show answer
a) Febuary. February has an r after the b, though many people do not say it.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word hearth as used in the sentence:
The family gathered round the hearth on the cold winter night.
a) fireside
b) chimney
c) doorstep
d) kitchen
Show answer
a) fireside. The hearth is the warm spot by the fire, the fireside.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The cat curled up by the warm reathh and slept all evening.
a) health
b) heather
c) breath
d) hearth
Show answer
d) hearth. Health needs an l, heather an extra e and breath a b, so only hearth fits the letters.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Hearth and home together stand for ____.
a) the comfort of home and family
b) a stove and a cooking pot
c) the roof and the walls of a house
d) a fire that has gone out
Show answer
a) the comfort of home and family
2. In an old cottage, the hearth was mainly used for ____.
a) keeping animals in at night
b) washing clothes and dishes
c) cooking food and keeping warm
d) storing grain for the winter
Show answer
c) cooking food and keeping warm
