Coffee has initially been a food ā chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.
LISTEN
listen
(verb) hear with intention; āListen to the sound of this celloā
listen, hear, take heed
(verb) listen and pay attention; āListen to your fatherā; āWe must hear the expert before we make a decisionā
heed, mind, listen
(verb) pay close attention to; give heed to; āHeed the advice of the old menā
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
listen (third-person singular simple present listens, present participle listening, simple past and past participle listened)
(intransitive) To pay attention to a sound or speech.
(intransitive) To expect or wait for a sound, such as a signal.
(intransitive) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent.
(transitive, archaic) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.
Usage notes
In English, listen and hear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. To hear represents automatic, unconscious, or passive perception of sound, while listen generally represents intentional, conscious, or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. The difference is expressed in the following quotation
As the silence took hold in the darkness, Sam realized that she had been hearing, though not listening to, various low-level soundsāthe hum of air conditioning and life support, the pulse of some faraway oxygen pump, the faint buzz of the electrical and lighting systems. āJustin Richards (1999) Demontage, chapter 5, page 92.
A similar distinction exists between see and watch in English.
Synonyms
• (to pay attention): attend, behear, give ear, hark, hear, heed, list, mind, note, pay attention
• (to expect or wait for a sound): await, anticipate, expect, wait for
• (to accept advice or instruction): agree, assent, hearken, mind, obey
• (to hear): hear, mind, heed
• See also listen
Antonyms
• (to pay attention): ignore
• (to accept advice or instruction): disobey, disregard
Coordinate terms
• speak
• talk
Noun
listen (plural listens)
An instance of listening.
Synonym: play (of recorded audio)
Anagrams
• ELINTs, SILENT, Teslin, enlist, inlets, leints, silent, tinsel
Source: Wiktionary
Lis"ten, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Listened; p. pr. & vb. n. Listening.] Etym: [OE. listnen, listen, lustnen, lusten, AS. hlystan; akin to hlyst hearing, OS. hlust, Icel. hlusta to listen, hlust ear, AS. hlosnian to wait in suspense, OHG. hlosen to listen, Gr. loud. sq. root41. See Loud, and cf. List to listen.]
1. To give close attention with the purpose of hearing; to give ear; to hearken; to attend. When we have occasion to listen, and give a more particular attention to same sound, the tympanum is drawn to a more than ordinary tension. Holder.
2. To give heed; to yield to advice; to follow admonition; to obey. Listen to me, and by me be ruled. Tennyson. To listen after, to take an interest in. [Obs.] Soldiers note forts, armories, and magazines; scholars listen after libraries, disputations, and professors. Fuller.
Syn.
– To attend; hearken. See Attend.
Lis"ten, v. t.
Definition: To attend to. [Obs.] Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 February 2025
ANALYSIS
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., āthe father of the brideā instead of āthe brideās fatherā
Coffee Trivia
