Word Study
hearken
CIDE DICTIONARY
hearken, v. i. [OE. hercnen, hercnien, AS. hercnian, heorcnian, fr. hiéran, h, to hear; akin to OD. harcken, horcken, LG. harken, horken, G. horchen. See Hear, and cf. Hark.].
- To listen; to lend the ear; to attend to what is uttered; to give heed; to hear, in order to obey or comply. [1913 Webster]"The Furies hearken, and their snakes uncurl." [1913 Webster]"Hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you." [1913 Webster]
- To inquire; to seek information. Shak.
Syn. -- To attend; listen; hear; heed. See Attend, v. i.
hearken, v. t.
- To hear by listening. [1913 Webster]"[She] hearkened now and then
Some little whispering and soft groaning sound." [1913 Webster] - To give heed to; to hear attentively. [1913 Webster]"The King of Naples . . . hearkens my brother's suit." [1913 Webster]"If you find none, you must hearken out a vein and buy." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
hearken, v.intr. (also harken) archaic or literary (often foll. by to) listen.
Etymology
OE heorcnian (as HARK)
THESAURUS
hearken
attend, attend to, auscultate, be all ears, bend an ear, bug, cock the ears, eavesdrop, examine by ear, give attention, give audience to, give ear, hark, hear, hear out, heed, intercept, lend an ear, listen, listen at, listen in, listen to, sit in on, tap, wiretapFor further exploring for "hearken" in Webster Dictionary Online
