hearken

also
v., -kened, also -kened, -ken·ing, -ken·ing, -kens, -kens.

v.intr.
To listen attentively; give heed.

v.tr. Archaic
To listen to; hear.

[Middle English herknen, from Old English hercnian.]

(HAHR-ken)
verb intr., also harken or hark
1. To pay attention; listen.
2. To return to a previous subject (usually in the form of hearken back).

Etymology
From Middle English herknen, from Old English he(o)rcnian.

Usage
"The reasons long given by the old guard for barring women -- that they will cause disorder and create competition among the men, that they play with a different character than men, that their pregnancies would disrupt scheduling -- seem laughably antiquated. Such notions conjure up images of women as temptresses and hearken to times when the sight of a cello between a woman's legs was considered unfeminine." — Anthony Tommasini, The Vienna Philharmonic Returns, Virtually a Male Bastion, The New York Times, Mar 15, 1999.

---

also harken

verb

1. To make an effort to hear something: hark, listen. Archaic list³. Idioms: givelendan ear. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
2. To perceive by ear, usually attentively: attend, hark, hear, heed, listen. Idioms: givelendone's ear. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: listen; used mostly in the imperative
  Synonyms: hark, harken

---

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - lytte til, høre på
v. tr. - lytte, høre

Nederlands (Dutch)
aandachtig luisteren naar

Français (French)
v. intr. - prêter l'oreille à (arch), écouter attentivement
v. tr. - écouter/dire des "on-dit", être fondé sur des "ouï-dire"

idioms:

• hearken back    être attentif à ce qui a été dit

Deutsch (German)
v. - hören, lauschen

idioms:

• hearken back    zurückkommen auf, zurückgreifen auf, wieder anfangen von

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ακούω, ακροώμαι

Italiano (Italian)
ascoltare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - escutar com atenção

Русский (Russian)
слушать, обращать внимание

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - escuchar
v. tr. - escuchar

idioms:

• hearken back    recordar algo del pasado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - lyssna till (litt.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
倾听, 留心, 听明白, 听后得知, 听出

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 傾聽
v. tr. - 留心, 傾聽, 聽明白, 聽後得知, 聽出

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 귀를 기울이다, 경청하다
v. tr. - ~을 듣다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 聞く

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يصغي, يولي اذنا صاغيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮הקשיב קשב רב, העניק שימת-לב ל-‬
v. tr. - ‮הקשיב‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.