noun
cockle
A person's innermost feelings, used in the plural in phrases about the heart.
Her handwritten note warms the cockles of my heart.
Etymology
The phrase cockles of the heart transfers a shellfish name to the heart’s inner depths. The anatomical comparison behind it is uncertain, so a specific resemblance should not be presented as established.
More examples
- Seeing neighbors help each other warms the cockles of his heart.
- That old song still warms the cockles of Grandma’s heart.
- It warmed the cockles of our hearts to see them reunited.
Forms
cockle · cockles
Similar words
- heart
- Names the emotional center without requiring this fixed phrase.
- feelings
- Covers emotions generally, not specifically the deepest emotional core.