The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hearken \Heark"en\ (h[aum]rk"'n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hearkened (-'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Hearkening.] [OE. hercnen, hercnien, AS. hercnian, heorcnian, fr. hi['e]ran, h[=y]ran, to hear; akin to OD. harcken, horcken, LG. harken, horken, G. horchen. See Hear, and cf. Hark.]
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To listen; to lend the ear; to attend to what is uttered; to give heed; to hear, in order to obey or comply.
The Furies hearken, and their snakes uncurl.
--Dryden.Hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you.
--Deut. iv. 1. -
To inquire; to seek information. [Obs.] ``Hearken after their offense.''
--Shak.Syn: To attend; listen; hear; heed. See Attend, v. i.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Old English heorcnunge "harkening, listening, power of hearing" (see hearken).
Wiktionary
n. The act of one who hearkens or listens. vb. (present participle of hearken English)
Usage examples of "hearkening".
The Shepherds answered, Have you not heard of them that were made to err by hearkening to Hymeneus and Philetus as concerning the faith of the resurrection of the body?
The sound of the sea booming in the firth came down the wind, and, as many times before, he seemed to be hearkening to it.
Out in the oceans, the wild seal folk emerged to sit upon rocky isles, hearkening to the north wind.
All at once the company fell silent again, hearkening, watching both Angavar and the couple on the dance floor.
I had my ear an hour at the larger of these holes, hearkening to the charm of that chanting down below in the dark.
The neighbour hearkening with white face beside his window, the passer-by arrested by a horrible surmise on the pavement—these could at worst suspect, they could not know.
And then again, and hearkening with ever fresh attention, he blessed himself for that unresting sense which held the outposts and stood a trusty sentinel upon his life.
I had lost consciousness and when I awoke it was night and I found myself in bed hearkening to the soft voices of two women in the room.
It was not sleep at first, but a mental hearkening back to scenes and incidents in his Chicago life.
Ever hearkening to the sound of beauty, straining for the flash of its distant wings, he watches to follow, wearying his feet in travelling.