Would you like to put a lot of feeling behind what you say next, or would you like to let someone know that this comes from the very depths of your emotion? The phrase 'heavy heart' can be appropriate for this, and the English saying has plenty of useful ways to say it to convey heartfelt or deep emotion. This phrase looks at the origin and meaning of this saying.
Meaning
The meaning of the phrase 'heavy heart' is a type of figurative expression that is used to convey sympathies or sadness from the speaker to the recipient.
If someone says or gives something with a 'heavy heart' then it means that something is said (or given) with the undertones of deep, often painful emotions.
A 'heavy heart' implies sadness, grief or regret and it can never be used to mean positive emotions when it is said.
The implication of the saying 'heavy heart' is that the heart is metaphorically made heavier by the burden of the emotion in question.
The phrase can sometimes be used as an announcement: 'It is with a heavy heart that I say this.'
The phrase 'heavy heart' or 'with a heavy heart' can be used to refer to one person or several, though the saying is adapted accordingly when this is the case.
The context as to what someone 'has a heavy heart' over is usually made clear from the context of what is beind said.
Example Usage
“It is with a heavy heart that we had to announce we were closing the company. We didn't feel good about it at all, but it was something that had to be done.”
“Our hearts are heavy to announce the closure of the company, and we wish everyone the best in what they find on their journey next.”
“My heart was heavy when I thought of my grandfather, not because he was dead, but because he had taken the last beer out of the fridge and I was sad about it.”
“Our hearts were heavy to hear that his grandmother died, but at least she left him the most expensive thing in the house. That must have taken some of their pain away.”
Origin
The saying 'heavy heart' or the longer expression 'with a heavy heart' has been in popular use since at least the 1800s, though most online resources agree that the expression could have appeared even before this.
It's likely that the term owes its origin to the original use of the word 'heavy', which is said to have moved into the English language around the 1300s according to online etymology resources.
Once the term 'heavy' became common, the phrase 'heavy heart' might have originated from the Egyptian idea that souls (and thus, hearts) were weighed against a feather in the afterlife.
Someone who as 'a heavy heart' thus has something weighing in on their emotions.
The phrase came into more common usage after the printing press, and would later evolve to use on social media websites where the meaning of the phrase stayed unchanged.
Phrases Similar to Heavy Heart
- Weighted conscience
- Heavy soul
Phrases Opposite to Heavy Heart
- Lightheated
What is the Correct Saying?
- [with a] heavy heart
- a heavy heart
Ways People May Say Heavy Heart Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use the phrase 'with a heavy heart' or 'heavy heart' in the wrong way, or use it in the wrong context.
The phrase might not translate well in the literal sense to other languages that have no equivalent expression.
A 'heavy heart' never refers to kindness, but always weighted, darker emotion.
The expression is not common as 'heavy hearts', but can be used as such.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Heavy Heart
The correct way to use the phrase 'heavy heart' or 'with a heavy heart' is to use it to convey deep, intense feelings of regret, longing, sadness, or any emotion that can be figuratively said to 'weigh' on someone's mental state.