hearth

Noun

• an area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room)
  • they sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire
    

• home symbolized as a part of the fireplace
  • driven from hearth and home
    
  • fighting in defense of their firesides
    

• an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
  • the fireplace was so large you could walk inside it
    
  • he laid a fire in the hearth and lit it
    
  • the hearth was black with the charcoal of many fires
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  fireside , fireplace , open fireplace