heartsomeadj.
/ˈhɑːts(ə)m/, U.S. /ˈhɑrts(ə)m/, Scottish English /ˈharts(ə)m/ Originally Scottish. Now somewhat archaic.† 1. Courageous, bold. Cf. heart n. 11a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > [adjective]
courageous1297
heartya1375
leoninec1386
heartlya1450
well-stomached1478
couraged?1529
noble couraged1561
heartsome1567
Roman1577
generous1596
nerved1615
noble-spiriteda1617
noble-hearted1684
courageable1689
lion-hearted1708
1567 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 34 Now, euerie Dowglas of ane hartsum mynde, Think on dame Margaret.
2. That makes a person feel glad or cheerful; emotionally uplifting or comforting. Cf. heartening adj., heartwarming adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > quality of causing joy or delight > [adjective]
hightlyOE
delitec1225
joyful1297
delightablec1300
delicatea1382
gladsomec1386
gladdingc1394
delightfula1400
deliciousc1400
delectablec1415
delighting?a1425
delitousa1425
ravishingc1430
joyous1475
delightsomec1484
wealthlya1500
delectary?c1500
sunny1565
sunshine1594
delighted1595
heartsome1596
joysome1616
gladdening1729
scrum1877
heartthrob1907
dilly1909
delish1915
zip-a-dee-doo-dah1945
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective] > cheering or suggestive of cheerfulness
comfortative1377
comfortive1377
cheerfula1440
comfortablec1460
cheering1549
sunny1565
sunshine1594
heartsome1596
sprightly1598
livening1605
brightening1642
exhilarating1644
encheering1652
cheery1655
spiriting1671
sunshiny1686
riant1720
sonsy1721
genial1747
cheerfulizing1840
cheer-up1846
enlivening1862
exhilarative1864
exhilarant1866
exhilaratory1871
heartening1895
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 49 The citie [sc. Aberdeen] enioyes..a schip read, or hartsum hauining place.
1634 S. Rutherford Let. 2 Mar. (1675) iii. xxviii. 194 Pray for well-cooked meat, and an heartsome Saviour.
a1658 J. Durham Heaven upon Earth (1685) iv. 236 There is nothing more heartsome, refreshing and cheering to a tender walker..then when he hath examined his Conscience, to find it testify for him.
a1743 J. Relph Misc. of Poems (1747) 37 Hearths ever warmed with heartsome fires.
a1754 E. Erskine God in Christ (1789) 34 What a lightsome and heartsome dwelling place the believer has.
1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey 199 Overhead the heartsome stars were set in the face of the night.
1889 Harper's Mag. Dec. 121/2 The wild thyme..filled all the air with heartsome fragrance.
1965 Daily News (Huntingdon, Pa.) 7 Dec. 7/3 The lamplight in the windows of the village was a heartsome sight.
2010 B. McGill Butterfly Cabinet (2011) 7 There's always been a touch of the fortress about it: gray, nothing heartsome. But inside, it was a palace.
3. Full of or characterized by joy, animation, or good spirits; cheerful, merry, lively. Now rare and regional (chiefly Scottish).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > merriment > [adjective]
blitheOE
merryOE
golikc1175
lustya1225
playfulc1225
jollyc1305
merrya1350
jocund?c1380
galliardc1386
in (also on) a (merry, etc.) pinc1395
mirthfula1400
baudec1400
gayc1400
jovy1426
jocantc1440
crank1499
envoisiesa1500
as merry as a cricket1509
pleasant1530
frolic?1548
jolious1575
gleeful1586
buxom1590
gleesome1590
festival1592
laughter-loving1592
disposed1593
jucund1596
heartsomec1600
jovial1607
jovialist1610
laughsome1612
jocundary1618
gaysome1633
chirpinga1637
jovialissime1652
airy1654
festivous1654
hilarous1659
spleneticala1661
cocket1671
cranny1673
high1695
vogie1715
raffing?1719
festal1724
as merry (or lively) as a grig1728
hearty1755
tittuping1772
festive1774
fun-loving1776
mirthsome1787
Falstaffian1809
cranky1811
laughful1825
as lively as a cricket1832
hurrah1835
hilarious1838
Bacchic1865
laughterful1874
griggish1879
banzai1929
slap-you-on-the-back1932
c1600 A. Montgomerie Poems (2000) 35 My color changes in an hartsum heu.
1720 A. Ramsay Poems 255 With Sangs and dancing keen We'll pass the heartsome Day.
1789 D. Davidson Thoughts Seasons 100 Ay heartsome baith, they pass'd the day, in hope, To close the e'ening in, each other's arms.
a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) vii. 222 Ye heartsome Choristers, ye and I will be Brethren.
1895 S. R. Crockett Sweetheart Trav. 129 He was a heartsome cleric, and gave us jovial greeting.
1908 M. Moore Let. 15 Mar. in Sel. Lett. (1997) 41 The mandolin club played for dancing in the Gym, last night. It was really a heartsome frolic.
1919 G. Rae Clyde & Tweed 9 Dod, but the hairsts were hairtsome then, In the years round saxty-seeven.
1944 Sunday News & Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) 9 July 12/1 ‘The Common Touch’ makes one wondrous kind and heartsome and of good cheer.
2007 R. Fairnie Scots Tung Wittins (SCOTS) No. 162 I dinnae ken if Sunday Schuils exists ony mair, but I wad think that engagin Scots bairns wi the hertsome Glesca text in A Glasgow Bible wad be a shuir wey o gettin a new generation interestit.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1567