hearken
Syllables: heark·en/ˈhɑːk(ə)n/US/ˈhɑɹkən/
hearken verb: to hear (something) with attention; to have regard to (something).
Verb
hearken (third-person singular simple present hearkens, present participle hearkening, simple past and past participle hearkened)
- To hear (something) with attention; to have regard to (something).
- Thenceforth ſhe paſt into his dreadfull den, / VVhere nought but darkeſome drerineſſe ſhe found, / Ne creature ſaw, but hearkned now and then / Some little whiſpering, and ſoft groaning ſound.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 33, page 103
- This King of Naples being an Enemy / To me inueterate, hearkens my Brothers ſuit, / Which was, That he in lieu o' th' premiſes, / Of homage, and I know not how much Tribute, / Should preſently extirpate me and mine / Out of the Dukedome, and confer faire Milane / With all the Honors, on my brother...1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
- To listen; to attend or give heed to what is uttered; to hear with attention, compliance, or obedience.
- Who ſo hearkeneth vnto me, ſhal not come to confuſion, & they that worke by me, ſhal not offende; [they that make me to be knowen, ſhal haue euerlaſting life.]1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus XXIIII:25...
- She hearkens for his hounds and for his horn: / Anon she hears them chant it lustily, / And all in haste she coasteth to the cry.1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, [verse 145], lines [868–870]; republished as Shakespeare’s Venus & Adonis: […], London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent...
- To enquire; to seek information.
- Claudio. Hearken after their offence my Lord. / Prince. Officers, what offence haue theſe men done?1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act V...
hearken meaning in Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
hearken in Urdu
- دھیان سے سننا
hearken in Bengali
- মনোযোগ দিয়ে শোনা
hearken in Malayalam
- ശ്രദ്ധിച്ചു കേൾക്കുക, ശ്രദ്ധവെക്കുക
hearken in Kannada
- ಆಲಿಸಿ ಕೇಳು, ಗಮನಿಸಿ ಕೇಳು
Examples of hearken in a sentence
- With pleaſure he hearkens the heart-ſoothing chear / Shakes Morpheus and ſlumber away; / While joyful he ſtarts, and with ſpeed doth appear / The foremoſt to welcome the day.1785, “Hunting Songs and Cantatas”, in The Humming Bird: Or, A Compleat Collection of the Most Esteemed Songs. […], 3rd edition...
- Tho' I cannot speak a word, I shall hearken what ye say, / And be often—often with ye when ye think I'm faraway.1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “New Year’s Eve”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza X, page 99:
- And now a sweet bird calls its scattered mates, / And gaily hearkens the unburdened heart.1869 December 18, “A Storm”, in William, Robert Chambers, editors, Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, number 312...
- Up in the spire / The watcher set high o'er the half-hid town / Hearkens the sound of chiming bells fall down / Below him: […]1870, William Morris, “January”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, part IV, London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], →OCLC, page 88:
Forms of hearken
| third-person singular present | hearkens |
|---|---|
| present participle | hearkening |
| past participle | hearkened |
| past | hearkened |
| alternative US | harken |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | hearkenest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | hearkenedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | hearkeneth |
Origin of hearken
From Middle English herkenen (“to listen (attentively); to pay attention, take heed”) [and other forms], from Old English hercnian, heorcnian, hyrcnian, from *heorcian (“to hark”) infixed with -n-, from Proto-West Germanic *hauʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną (“to hear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti (“to be sharp-eared, hear well”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) + *h₂ṓws (“ear”) + *-yéti (denominative suffix), thus equivalent to hark + -en. The spelling of the English word was probably influenced by hear; a similarly analogical pronunciation existed in Early Modern English.
Words formed from hearken
Words that rhyme with hearken
Questions about hearken
- What does hearken mean?
- Hearken means to hear (something) with attention; to have regard to (something).
- What is hearken in Urdu?
- Hearken in Urdu is دھیان سے سننا. See Hearken meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use hearken in a sentence?
- With pleaſure he hearkens the heart-ſoothing chear / Shakes Morpheus and ſlumber away; / While joyful he ſtarts, and with ſpeed doth appear / The foremoſt to welcome the day.
- What part of speech is hearken?
- Hearken is a verb.
- How do you pronounce hearken?
- Hearken is pronounced /ˈhɑːk(ə)n/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of hearken?
- The past tense of hearken is hearkened.
Words near hearken in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hearken (page history and authors); hearken (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hearken (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hearken (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hearken (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hearken.wav.
Cite this entry: “hearken.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hearken. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.