hören

Forms

hören (third-person singular present hört, past tense hörte, past participle gehört, auxiliary haben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German hœren, inherited from Old High German hōren, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną (“to hear”).^[2][1][3] The same verb is Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hausjan), Old Norse heyra, Old English hȳran, English hear, Old Frisian hēra, Old Saxon hōrian, Dutch horen and Swedish höra.^[2][4][5] The Middle High German past tense hôrte had no umlaut, a form that lasted into New High German.^[5]

Its nearest relative outside Germanic is Ancient Greek ἀκούω (akoúō, “I hear”), though the explanation of its initial vowel is disputed.^[2] Kluge also compares Ancient Greek κοέω (koéō, “I perceive”), Latin caveō (“to beware”) and an Old Irish verb for “hears”.^[2] Duden and Wahrig derive the group from a root Proto-Indo-European *keu- (“to pay attention, notice”), with an extended form *keus-, and a form with initial /s/ may underlie schauen.^[6][7][2] Wiktionary instead analyses the Germanic verb as a compound of Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ows- (“ear”), “to be sharp-eared”.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German hōren is first recorded in glosses of the last quarter of the 8th century, and then in the Benedictine Rule, the Tatian, Otfrid, the Muspilli, the Georgslied and Notker.^[3][8] It meant “to hear, listen to” and also “to obey, follow”, “to grant (a prayer)” and “to belong to”.^[8][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb names first the involuntary perception of sound, then the ability to hear (er hört schlecht), and attentive listening, as when one attends a sermon or a lecture.^[4] With auf it means to heed advice (hör auf mich!), and a dog hört auf its name.^[4] The old sense “to obey” is obsolete except in the proverb Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen and in speaking to children.^[4]

Several derivatives have drifted far from it: gehören “to belong”, aufhören “to stop” (late Middle High German ūfhœren, probably from “to break off and listen up”), and the nouns Behörde and Zubehör from an obsolete behören.^[6][7] Hörensagen “hearsay” arose in the 15th century from ich habe es hören sagen.^[6] English color hearing (1882) may render German farbiges Hören.^[9]

Timeline

• Last quarter of the 8th century – Old High German hōren appears in glosses.^[3]
• Late Middle High German – ūfhœren “to stop” is formed.^[6]
• 15th century – Hörensagen “hearsay” arises.^[6]
• End of the 16th century – Hörerin appears.^[6]
• 18th century – Hörrohr and Hörsaal are formed.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To be able to hear: Mein Großvater hört nur noch auf einem Ohr.^[10][1]
2. To perceive with the ear: Wir hörten draußen einen Hund bellen.^[10][1]
3. To listen to: Radio hören, Musik hören.^[10][1]
4. To attend (a lecture or a course).^[1][4]
5. To learn, be told, hear of: Ich habe gehört, dass sie umzieht.^[10][1]
6. (with auf) To heed, obey: Hör auf deine Schwester!^[10][1]
7. (law) To hear (a witness), give a hearing to.^[11]

Word family

• aufhören
• Gehör
• gehören
• hellhörig
• Hörer
• hörig
• überhören
• verhören
• herhören
• hinhören
• hörbar
• mithören
• zuhören

Related words

• gehorsam
• horchen
• Akustik
• English hear

Usage notes

Jemandem vergeht Hören und Sehen is said when an experience is so intense that one loses one's bearings.^[10] Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen warns that those who ignore advice will learn by suffering.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 425
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
5. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 10, 1806
6. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 377
7. ^ a b Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
8. ^ a b Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 157
9. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
10. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
11. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org