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Warm the cockles of someone's heart

//wɔːm ðə ˈkɒk.əlz əv ˌsʌm.wənz ˈhɑːt// verb

Definitions

Verb

1
Especially of food or drink (particularly an alcoholic beverage): to cause someone to feel deeply warm and comfortable; to comfort, to satisfy. dated, idiomatic, intransitive
"Here a fresh-looking barmaid serves them each with a glass of early purl as they stand before the fire, coachman and guard exchanging business remarks. The purl warms the cockles of Tom's heart and makes him cough."
2
To provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness. dated, figuratively, idiomatic, intransitive
"Novv, although he ſays in his Preface, that he vvould not much boaſt of convincing the vvorld, hovv much I vvas miſtaken in vvhat I undertook; yet, I am confident of it, that this Contrivance of his did invvardly as much rejoyce the Cockles of his heart, as he phanſies, that vvhat I vvrit did ſometimes much tickle my Spleen."

Etymology

PIE word *ḱḗr Either from: * the similarity of a closed cockle (“European bivalve mollusk of the family Cardiidae”) to a heart; or * a corruption of Latin cochleae (“ventricles”) in cochleae cordis (“ventricles of the heart”). The term cockles of [someone’s] heart is first attested in 1671: see the quotation.

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