Meaning

noun an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built

noun home symbolized as a part of the fireplace

noun an area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room)

originFrom Middle English herth, herthe, from Old English heorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *herþ, from Proto-Germanic *herþaz, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃- (“heat; fire”). Cognate with West Frisian hurd, Dutch haard, German Herd, Swedish härd. The modern spelling is from an Middle English/Early Modern English /hɛːrθ/, from earlier /heːrθ/, levelled from inflected forms with /rð/ where the…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0