​heartstring「心弦」

heartstring「心弦」

Word of the Day：August 5, 2022

heartstring

心弦

noun /HAHRT-string/ ['hɑːtstrɪŋ]

What It Means

Heartstring is used, usually in the plural, to refer to someone's deepest emotions or affections.

Heartstring 一般用于复数形式，指某人最深的情感。

HEARTSTRING in Context

"You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be amazed at the talent on stage. These six actresses definitely know how to effortlessly make you chuckle while also tugging at your heartstrings." — Paul Lockwood, The Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, Illinois), 22 Jun. 2022

“你会笑，你会哭，你会惊叹于舞台上才华横溢的天才。这六位女演员绝对知道如何毫不费力地牵动你的心弦，让你笑。”

The movie's emotional ending really pulls at your heartstrings.

这部电影的感人结局真是牵动着你的心弦。

Did You Know?

Before a love song could tug at your heartstrings, the job was more likely to be accomplished by a surgeon: the word heartstring used to refer to a nerve believed to sustain the heart. You might recognize the word's second syllable in hamstring, which refers to both a group of tendons at the back of the knee and to any of three muscles at the backs of the upper legs. It's also apparent in a rare dialect term for the Achilles tendon: heel string. And in light of these terms, it's not surprising to know that string itself was at one time used independently to refer to bodily cords like tendons and ligaments.

情歌牵动你的心弦之前，这项工作更可能是由外科医生完成：heartstring 曾经被认为是维持心脏的神经。 你可能会认出 hamstring 中的第二个音节，它指的是膝盖后面的一组肌腱和大腿后部的三块肌肉。 这在the Achilles tendon 一个罕见的方言中也很明显：heel string。 鉴于这些用语，可以看出 string 曾经独立用于指代肌腱和韧带等身体纽带。

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to complete a word that formerly meant "of or relating to the heart," but that today usually means "politely pleasant and friendly": _ or _ ia _.

cordial