hear
English
Alternative forms
- heare (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English heren, from Old English hīeran (“to hear”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną (“to hear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti (“to be sharp-eared”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) + *h₂ows- (“ear”) + *-yéti (denominative suffix).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /hɪə(ɹ)/
Audio (UK) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /hɪɚ/
Audio (US) (file) - (Wales) IPA(key): /hjɜː/
- Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)
- Homophones: here, hir
Verb
hear (third-person singular simple present hears, present participle hearing, simple past and past participle heard)
- (intransitive, stative) To perceive sounds through the ear. [from 10th c.]
- I was deaf, and now I can hear.
- (transitive, stative) To perceive (a sound, or something producing a sound) with the ear, to recognize (something) in an auditory way. [from 10th c.]
- I heard a sound from outside the window.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
- Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
- (transitive) To exercise this faculty intentionally; to listen to. [from 10th c.]
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], OCLC 762018299, John ]:
- Agayne there was dissencion amonge the iewes for these sayinges, and many of them sayd: He hath the devyll, and is madde: why heare ye hym?
- 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:
- It had been his intention to go to Wimbledon, but as he himself said: “Why be blooming well frizzled when you can hear all the results over the wireless. And results are all that concern me. […]”
-
- (transitive) To listen favourably to; to grant (a request etc.). [from 10th c.]
- Eventually the king chose to hear her entreaties.
- (transitive) To receive information about; to come to learn of. [from 10th c.]
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
- Adam, soon as he heard / The fatal Trespass don by Eve, amaz'd, / Astonied stood and Blank […]
-
- (with from) To be contacted by.
- 2009, Elsa T. Aguries, The Pearl Within, →ISBN, page 141:
- When I don't hear from you, My days feel long and lonely.
- 2012, Art Wiederhold & Charles Sutphen, From the Depths of Evil, →ISBN, page 343:
- They're ten hours overdue. Have you heard from any of them since they left Nineveh?
- 2012, James Meredith, A Mission from God: A Memoir and Challenge for America, →ISBN:
- She left and I never heard from her again.
-
- (transitive) To listen to (a person, case) in a court of law; to try. [from 12th c.]
- Your case will be heard at the end of the month.
- (transitive, informal) To sympathize with; to understand the feelings or opinion of.
- You're tired of all the ads on TV? I hear ya.
Usage notes
- This is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs
Derived terms
- another county heard from
- behear
- forehear
- hard of hearing
- hear hear
- hearing aid
- hear on the grapevine
- hear out
- hearsay
- hearsome
- hear the grass grow
- mishear
- outhear
- overhear
- rehear
- unhear
Translations
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See also
- audible
- deaf
- listen
Interjection
hear
- you hear me
- 1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System:
- Y'all come back now, hear?
-
References
- hear in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- hear in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Anagrams
- Ahre, Hare, Hera, RHAe, Rahe, Rhea, hare, hera, rhea
Cimbrian
Alternative forms
- hèere (Sette Comuni)
Etymology
From Middle High German herre, from Old High German hērro, hēriro, comparative form of hēr (“gray-haired, noble, venerable”). Cognate with German Herr; see there for more.
Noun
hear m
- (Luserna) man, gentleman
References
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
West Frisian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɪə̯r/
Etymology 1
From Old Frisian hār (“honorable”).
Noun
hear c (plural hearen, diminutive hearke)
- lord
- (Christianity) the Lord, God
- Wêr de Geast fan de Hear is, der is frijheid. ― Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
- nobleman
- gentleman
Derived terms
- leavehearsbistke
- mynhear
Further reading
- “hear (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
Etymology 2
From Old Frisian here, from Proto-West Germanic *hari.
Noun
hear c (plural hearen)
- army
- Yn âlde tiden wie Frjentsjer bilegere fan in machtich hear. ― In days gone by, Franeker was besieged by a mighty army.
- crowd
Further reading
- “hear (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011