heart shell

noun

1. any of numerous bivalve mollusks, especially of the families Cardiidae and Carditidae, having a heart-shaped shell.
2. the shell itself.

Word History and Origins

Origin of heart shell¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

In the past, other names now associated with the same symptoms include "soldier's heart," "shell shock" and "thousand-yard stare."

From US News

At its heart, Shell will become primarily a business that extracts, liquefies and transports natural gas used mainly for heat and electricity, rather than pump oil for the transportation industry.

From Wall Street Journal

The psychic toll of war has been variously described as nostalgia, soldier’s heart, shell shock, war neuroses or simply exhaustion, and there have always been skeptics.

From Washington Post

This heart shell had to be cracked apart with forceps.

From Time Magazine Archive