heartache
nounattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈhɑːteɪk//
Emotional distress or pain, often caused by a loved one or their absence.
noun
- 1
Emotional distress or pain, often caused by a loved one or their absence.
[…]: to dye, to ſleepe, / No more; and by a ſleepe, to ſay we end / The Heart-ake, and the thouſand Naturall ſhockes / That Fleſh is heyre too?
“Well done, sister! I honour your esprit du corps. When I am a wife, I mean to be just as staunch myself; and I wish my friends in general would be so too. It would save me many a heart ache.”
She was carrying an armful of Bibles for her class, and such was her view of life that events which produced heartache in others wrought beatific smiles upon her—an enviable result, although, in the opinion of Angel, it was obtained by a curiously unnatural sacrifice of humanity to mysticism.
Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experiences he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey.
Etymology
From Middle English heorteece, heorte-ece, from Old English heorteċe, equivalent to heart + ache. Blends both literal and figurative aspects, as emotional distress sometimes includes a physical element of chest discomfort. Compare heartbreak § Etymology, where the literal aspect is lesser, though it still can be said to have a physiological basis.
Forms
- plural
- heartaches
heartache · Emotional distress or pain, often caused by a loved one or their absence.
heartbeat · One pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one,…heartbreak · Overwhelming mental anguish or grief, especially that caused…heartbreaking · That causes great grief, anguish or distress.