Deep emotional pain or sadness, especially from loss, rejection, or grief.
From 'heart' and 'ache,' combining two Old English words. Though the heart doesn't actually ache, humans have associated emotional pain with the heart for thousands of years.
We say 'heartache' even though emotions happen in the brain—ancient people thought the heart was the center of feeling, and we kept using the metaphor even after science proved them wrong.
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