Warm the Cockles of My Heart
by Kenneth Lyen
The etymology of the word "cockles" is derived from the ancient Greek word "konkhule" which refers to a screw-shaped object like a snail. The Middle French "coquille" and the Middle English "cockille" words refer to a shell. The first recorded mention of the term “cockles of the heart” was in 1671, and is based on the Latin words for the ventricles of the heart, “cochleae cordis”.
The heart was considered the centre of our feelings, our emotions, our soul. Warming the heart would make it beat faster, and therefore the increased circulation would enhance the intensity of our emotions, our love.
An alternative explanation of the origin of the expression "cockles of the heart" is the resemblance the shape of cockles has to the heart. The cockle is a bivalve mollusc with a strong ribbed shell, and indeed it does seem to have a heart shape.
However, cockles behave quite differently from the heart. Cockles have a worm-like foot that helps them burrow into the sea-bed. The heart pumps blood to all parts of our body.
It is of interest that the word "cochlea" also refers to a coiled shape spiral shell, which has been used in medical anatomy to depict the coiled blind-ending tube of the inner ear.
The link of molluscs to love is best depicted by Sandro Botticelli's famous painting of Venus (1484), the Goddess of Love. She was born out of sea foam and then carried by a conch shell, which has the shape of a heart, where she emerges naked on earth.
The expression “it warms the cockles of my heart” was used by Workers Party candidate Jamus Lim when he won a seat in the Sengkang group representation constituency. Suddenly this phrase has spread throughout Singapore, some say even faster than the coronavirus. The Workers Party victory has discovered a young generation of new voters who, unlike the older generation, have different dreams and aspirations. Let us wish them a brighter future!
Written by Kenneth Lyen
11 July 2020, Updated 4 Sept 2020
Disclaimer: I am apolitical and do not support any political party.
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Postscript
Being Singaporean, the best way to warm my heart is through the stomach. Cockles cooked with fried kuay teow stimulate the taste buds on my tongue, which send nerve signals to the gustatory cortex of the brain. Did you know that the human intestines is lined with over 100 million nerve cells and is virtually a brain unto itself? The neural signals from the gustatory cortex combined with the gastrointestinal nerve impulses generated by the digested cockles, send a horde of signals everywhere, and some will eventually reach and warm my heart. This deviant version of the inception of the phrase "warm the cockles of my heart", is the one I like best!
References
Meaning and origin of "To warm the cockles of one's heart" by Pascal Treguer
https://wordhistories.net/2017/09/27/cockles-of-heart-origin/
What is the origin of the phrase "it warms the cockles of my heart"?