hearken

English

Alternative forms

• harken

Etymology

From Middle English hercnen, from Old English *heorcnian, suffixed form of an assumed *heorcian (cf. hark), from the same root as hȳran (whence hear), with a formative/intensive -k. Equivalent to hark + -en.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈherːkən/
• (US) IPA: /ˈhɑrkən/

Verb

hearken (third-person singular simple present hearkens, present participle hearkening, simple past and past participle hearkened)

1. (intransitive) To listen; to lend the ear; to attend or give heed to what is uttered; to hear with attention, obedience, or compliance.
   • Dryden

     The Furies hearken, and their snakes uncurl.

   • Bible, Deuteronomy

     Hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you.

2. (transitive, poetic) To hear by listening.
3. (transitive) To hear with attention; to regard.
4. (obsolete) To enquire; to seek information.
   • Shakespeare

     Hearken after their offense.

Quotations

• 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version)^[1], Genesis 3:17

  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

• 1833: Alfred Tennyson, Œnone

  Dear mother Ida, harken ere I die.

• 1809-49: The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe

  How then am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily, how calmly, I can tell you the whole story.

References

• hearken in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911