hearth• Then they all gathered before a small fire on the kitchenhearth.• She sat down in a chair by the hearth.• She was as tall as Nigel, and now folded herself gracefully into a low chair by the hearth.• There was a fire in the hearth and sandwiches on the sideboard.• To be a Vestal Virgin meant both to be a guardian of the hearth and to be absolutely pure.