What is the meaning of hearth?

noun

• An open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built.
  • usage: "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"
  • synonyms: fireplace, open fireplace
• Home symbolized as a part of the fireplace.
  • usage: "driven from hearth and home"; "fighting in defense of their firesides"
  • synonyms: fireside
• An area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room. )
  • usage: "they sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire"
  • synonyms: fireside