hearken

Meanings

Verb

listen; used mostly in the imperative
To hear (something) with attention; to have regard to (something).
To listen; to attend or give heed to what is uttered; to hear with attention, compliance, or obedience.
To enquire; to seek information.

Origin / Etymology

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.

Synonyms

hark, harken

Scrabble Score: 14

hearken is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
hearken is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hearken is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

hearken is a valid Words With Friends word