Hyrtan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Old English verb meaning to rejoice, exult, or feel glad about something
2. An archaic Old English verb describing the act of delighting or taking joy in a thing
3. Describes a joyful state of mind in which a person celebrates or is pleased

Etymology: Hyrtan is an Old English verb meaning "to hearten" or "to encourage," built on the noun "heort," meaning "heart." It belongs to a family of Old English verbs formed by adding the suffix "-an" to a noun to make an action, so "to heart" someone was to put courage into their heart. The word is recorded in Old English texts, and its root "heort" is shared by modern English "heart" and its cousins in other Germanic languages, such as German "Herz" and Dutch "hart." The word did not survive into modern English. Its descendant "hearten" is a later formation, built directly on "heart" in the same way, and it shows the same idea reappearing centuries later. Because the Old English form is a simple derivation rather than a borrowing, its history is mostly a matter of transparent word-building.