noun (n)

• an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built(noun.artifact)

  Example:
  He laid a fire in the hearth and lit it.
  The hearth was black with the charcoal of many fires.
  

  Synonym:
  fireplace, open fireplace
  

  source: wordnet30
• home symbolized as a part of the fireplace(noun.artifact)

  Example:
  Driven from hearth and home.
  

  Synonym:
  fireside
  

  source: wordnet30
• an area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room)(noun.location)

  Example:
  They sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire.
  

  source: wordnet30
• The pavement or floor of brick, stone, or metal in a chimney, on which a fire is made; the floor of a fireplace; also, a corresponding part of a stove.(noun)

  source: webster1913