Hart vs. Heart — What's the Difference?

In historical terms, a hart was often a pursuit in European hunting.

The muscle that circulates blood through the body.

A term used in heraldry, representing a mature stag.

The central or most important part.

In literature, a hart can symbolize solitude or the hunted.

The seat of emotions, especially love.

An adult male deer, especially a red deer over five years old.

Essential character or quality.

A male deer, especially a male red deer over five years old.

The heart is a muscular organ in most animals, which pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to the lungs.

A male deer, especially the male of the red deer after his fifth year.

A hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. In vertebrates there may be up to four chambers (as in humans), with two atria and two ventricles.

A male red deer or one of related species.

The central or innermost part of something

Obsolete spelling of heart

A conventional representation of a heart with two equal curves meeting at a point at the bottom and a cusp at the top.

A stag; the male of the red deer. See the Note under Buck.

The condition of agricultural land as regards fertility

United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)

Like very much; love

United States lyricist who collaborated with Richard Rodgers (1895-1943)

The chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.

Male red deer

A similarly functioning structure in invertebrates.

A fully grown male deer.

The area that is the approximate location of the heart in the body; the breast.

A red deer, particularly after its fifth year.

The vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities.

The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs

The seat of the intellect or imagination

Emotional constitution, basic disposition, or character

One's prevailing mood or current inclination

Capacity for sympathy or generosity; compassion

Love; affection

Courage; resolution; fortitude

The firmness of will or the callousness required to carry out an unpleasant task or responsibility

A person esteemed or admired as lovable, loyal, or courageous

The central or innermost physical part of a place or region

The core of a plant, fruit, or vegetable, such as a heart of palm.

The most important or essential part

A conventional two-lobed representation of the heart, usually colored red or pink.

A red, heart-shaped figure on certain playing cards.

A playing card with this figure.

Hearts (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The suit of cards represented by this figure.

A card game in which the object is either to avoid hearts when taking tricks or to take all the hearts.

(Slang) To have great liking or affection for

(Archaic) To encourage; hearten.

(anatomy) A muscular organ that pumps blood through the body, traditionally thought to be the seat of emotion.

(uncountable) One's feelings and emotions, especially considered as part of one's character.

The seat of the affections or sensibilities, collectively or separately, as love, hate, joy, grief, courage, etc.; rarely, the seat of the understanding or will; usually in a good sense; personality.

Emotional strength that allows one to continue in difficult situations; courage; spirit; a will to compete.

Vigorous and efficient activity; power of fertile production; condition of the soil, whether good or bad.

(archaic) A term of affectionate or kindly and familiar address.

Memory.

(figurative) A wight or being.

A conventional shape or symbol used to represent the heart, love, or emotion: ♥ or sometimes <3.

A playing card of the suit hearts featuring one or more heart-shaped symbols.

(cartomancy) The twenty-fourth Lenormand card.

(figurative) The centre, essence, or core.

To be fond of. Often bracketed or abbreviated with a heart symbol.

To give heart to; to hearten; to encourage.

To fill an interior with rubble, as a wall or a breakwater.

To form a dense cluster of leaves, a heart, especially of lettuce or cabbage.

A hollow, muscular organ, which, by contracting rhythmically, keeps up the circulation of the blood.

The seat of the affections or sensibilities, collectively or separately, as love, hate, joy, grief, courage, and the like; rarely, the seat of the understanding or will; - usually in a good sense, when no epithet is expressed; the better or lovelier part of our nature; the spring of all our actions and purposes; the seat of moral life and character; the moral affections and character itself; the individual disposition and character; as, a good, tender, loving, bad, hard, or selfish heart.

The nearest the middle or center; the part most hidden and within; the inmost or most essential part of any body or system; the source of life and motion in any organization; the chief or vital portion; the center of activity, or of energetic or efficient action; as, the heart of a country, of a tree, etc.

Courage; courageous purpose; spirit.

Vigorous and efficient activity; power of fertile production; condition of the soil, whether good or bad.

That which resembles a heart in shape; especially, a roundish or oval figure or object having an obtuse point at one end, and at the other a corresponding indentation, - used as a symbol or representative of the heart.

One of the suits of playing cards, distinguished by the figure or figures of a heart; as, hearts are trumps.

Vital part; secret meaning; real intention.

A term of affectionate or kindly and familiar address.

To give heart to; to hearten; to encourage; to inspirit.

To form a compact center or heart; as, a hearting cabbage.

The locus of feelings and intuitions;

The hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions pump blood through the body;

The courage to carry on;

An area that is approximately central within some larger region;

The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience;

An inclination or tendency of a certain kind;

A plane figure with rounded sides curving inward at the top and intersecting at the bottom; conventionally used on playing cards and valentines;

A firm rather dry variety meat (usually beef or veal);

A positive feeling of liking;

A playing card in the major suit of hearts;

Showing courage and spirit.

Typically, "hart" refers to a specific type of male deer, often the red deer.

In literature, historical texts, or discussions of heraldry.

Yes, medically it refers to the organ, while in everyday language, it can also be metaphorical.

Historically, the heart was believed to be the center of emotions, including love.

They are homophones and sound the same, so context is key to differentiation.

A hart is an adult male deer, often a red deer over five years old.

No, "hart" is considered archaic and is rarely used in everyday modern English.

The heart pumps blood throughout the body and is also associated with emotions.

Yes, it can refer to the core of something or one's innermost character.

"Hart" is a more specific and historical term that might be used for literary or stylistic effect.

Examples include "heart of gold," "after my own heart," and "heart to heart."

Remember that "hart" relates to an animal (with a "t" as in "stag"), while "heart" is about the organ or emotion.

No common modern expressions, but you might find it in historical phrases or texts.

Yes, it can describe negative emotions, as in "a heart of stone."

The hart often has different symbolic meanings in various cultures, many related to its role in nature.