heartsease means A common European wild flower, Viola tricolor; the wild pansy.
Why “heartsease” is a great word
A remedy for emotional distress, particularly lovesickness, embodied in a small, purple-and-yellow wildflower. From Middle English hertes ese (before 1393), from heart + the genitive 's + ease, literally meaning 'heart's ease'. Unlike "tranquility," which suggests a general atmospheric calm, or "solace," which offers comfort in grief, heartsease implies a specific, almost medicinal relief for the heart's acute afflictions. It is the crushed velvet of a pansy petal, the bitter tincture swallowed to still an ache, and the quiet promise of a folk remedy tucked into a book—the ancient faith that nature, in its modesty, might succeed where we fail ourselves.
Etymology
From heart + -s- + ease: an infusion made from the plant is traditionally believed to cure lovesickness.
noun
- A common European wild flower, Viola tricolor; the wild pansy.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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