cockles of the heart

noun phrase

: the core of one's being

—usually used in the phrase warm the cockles of the heart

Word History

Etymology

probably from cockle entry 2, from a presumed resemblance of the closed shell to a heart

Note: Compare Herzmuschel, the German name for the cockle, literally, "heart mussel"; and New Latin Cardium, the original genus name of the species (based on Greek kardía "heart").

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined above