Historically, some linguists connected this specific idiom to the Latin seco ("to cut"), interpreting it as "to cut to the heart".
Romanians frequently use it to describe a hauntingly beautiful or mournful performance. If a singer performs a particularly soul-stirring folk song or a crying violin plays, listeners might say, "Când începe să cânte, te seacă la inimă" ( "When they begin to sing, it dries up your heart" ). Te SeacДѓ la inimДѓ
In Romanian folklore, traditional music (like the doină ), and everyday speech, the phrase is applied to a few distinct scenarios: listeners might say