listen
/ˈlɪsən/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.06 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To use one's sense of hearing and auditory cognition in an intentional way; to make deliberate use of one's ears; to pay attention to or wait for a specific sound.
Example Sentences
- "Please listen carefully as I explain."
- "I could hear you talking upstairs, but I didn’t really listen to your conversation."
- "It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.[…]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts."
- "He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then to listen, and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze."
- "He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement."
- "(transitive, archaic) Listen the watchman’s cry upon the wall."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew-der. Proto-Germanic *hlusnijaną Old English hlysnan Middle English listenen English listen From Middle English listenen, listnen, alteration (due to Middle English listen (“to listen, give heed to”)) of Old English hlysnan (“to listen”), from Proto-Germanic *hlusnijaną, *hlusnōną (compare Middle High German lüsenen), from Proto-Germanic *hlusēną (compare Old High German hlosēn), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). Cognate with Swedish lyssna (“to listen”). Compare Ancient Greek κλαίω (klaíō, “to make known, famous”), Welsh clywed (“to hear”), Latin clueō (“to be famous”), Lithuanian klausýti, Old Church Slavonic слушати (slušati, “to hear”), Sanskrit श्रोषति (śróṣati, “an exclamation used in making an offering with fire to the gods or departed spirits”) & Sanskrit श्लोक्य (ślókya, “voice, sound, noisy”)). Related to loud and German lauschen.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: listenen, hlysnan, *hlusnijaną, *hlusēną, *ḱlew-