hear

See also: Hear

English

Alternative forms

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).

Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian heere (“to hear”), West Frisian hearre (“to hear”), Dutch horen (“to hear”), German hören (“to hear”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål høre (“to hear”), Norwegian Nynorsk høyra (“to hear”), Icelandic heyra (“to hear”), Ancient Greek ἀκούω (akoúō, “I hear”).

Pronunciation

Verb

hear (third-person singular simple present hears, present participle hearing, simple past and past participle heard)

  1. (intransitive, stative) To perceive sounds through the ear. [from 10th c.]
    I was deaf, and now I can hear.
  2. (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.
  3. (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. […]”
  4. (transitive) To listen favourably to; to grant (a request etc.). [from 10th c.]
    Eventually the king chose to hear her entreaties.
  5. (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 […]
  6. (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.
  7. (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.
  8. (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

Translations

See also

Interjection

hear

  1. you hear me

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

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

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

  1. (Luserna) man, gentleman

References

West Frisian

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /hɪə̯r/

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian hār (“honorable”).

Noun

hear c (plural hearen, diminutive hearke)

  1. lord
  2. (Christianity) the Lord, God
    Wêr de Geast fan de Hear is, der is frijheid. ― Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
  3. nobleman
  4. gentleman
Derived terms

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)

  1. army
    Yn âlde tiden wie Frjentsjer bilegere fan in machtich hear. ― In days gone by, Franeker was besieged by a mighty army.
  2. crowd

Further reading
  • “hear (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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