HEARKEN
hark, harken, hearken
(verb) listen; used mostly in the imperative
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
hearken (third-person singular simple present hearkens, present participle hearkening, simple past and past participle hearkened)
(transitive, archaic, except, poetic) To hear (something) with attention; to have regard to (something).
(intransitive) To listen; to attend or give heed to what is uttered; to hear with attention, compliance, or obedience.
(intransitive, obsolete) To enquire; to seek information.
Usage notes
The form hearken is much more common in Britain, while harken (which is older and thought by some to be more regularly formed from hark) is more common in the United States.
Conjugation
Source: Wiktionary
Heark"en, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hearkened; p. pr. & vb. n. Hearkening.] Etym: [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..]
1. To listen; to lend the ear; to attend to what is uttered; to give heed; to hear, in order to obey or comply. The Furies hearken, and their snakes uncurl. Dryden. Hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you. Deut. iv. 1.
2. To inquire; to seek information. [Obs.] "Hearken after their offense." Shak.
Syn.
– To attend; listen; hear; heed. See Attend, v. i.
Heark"en, v. t.
1. To hear by listening. [Archaic] [She] hearkened now and then Some little whispering and soft groaning sound. Spenser.
2. To give heed to; to hear attentively. [Archaic] The King of Naples . . . hearkens my brother's suit. Shak. To hearken out, to search out. [Obs.] If you find none, you must hearken out a vein and buy. B. Johnson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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