Noun

Definition: the floor in front of or inside a fireplace

It was found in the first paragraph of the reading “Who Knows Brooklyn?”

The author was trying to say that Merlis’ new entry was “better in a hearth than upon a coffee table or bookshelf…” I now know that he was basically saying that his new entry belonged in a fire.

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hearth