listen English · revision 3349

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950|origins=ine-pro *ḱlew-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɪs.ən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|listnen]], also lusnen,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) from Old English [[m|ang|hlysnan|t=to listen, hear; to attend to]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from Proto-Germanic *hlusinōn,^(Etymonline) the source also of Dutch [[m|nl|luisteren]], Old High German [[m|goh|hlosēn|t=to listen]] and German [[m|de|lauschen]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) It is from [[ine-pro|*ḱlew-|alt=*kleu-|t=to hear]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) and Merriam-Webster compares Old English hlūd, the source of [[loud]].^(MW Collegiate) The ''-t-'' is from the influence of the related Middle English listen “to hear, hearken”, now [[list]], from Old English hlystan,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) and Klein sees the word as a blend of hlysnan and that Middle English verb.^(Klein 1966) Compare [[glisten]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Transitive, “to hear attentively, pay attention to”: about 950 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Barnhart dates lusnen to probably about 1150, lustnen to before 1200 and listnen to before 1250.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The intransitive sense, “to make an effort to hear”, is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Listen to'', “to give heed to”, is from about 1290.^(OED 1989) ''To listen in'' is from 1905, originally of radio broadcasts,^(Etymonline) and also meant listening secretly to a telephone conversation.^(OED 1989) The American “to sound, strike one as”, as in ''that listens good'', is from 1908.^(OED 1989) The noun, an act of listening, is from 1788, in ''on the listen'' “alert”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – to hear attentively.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – to try to hear.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1290 – ''listen to''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1788 – noun, ''on the listen''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1905 – ''listen in''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – to sound, in American use.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make an effort to hear something.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To pay attention; to [[heed]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To listen to a broadcast: ''listen in''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' An act of listening.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[listener]]

+ * [[unlistening]]

+ * [[listenable]]

+ * [[listenership]]

+ * [[relisten]]

+ * [[unlistenable]]

+ * [[listen in]]

+ * [[listening post]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[list]]

+ * [[hearken]]

+ * [[loud]]

+ * [[glisten]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}