listen
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See also: Listen
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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”) (compare Ancient Greek κλαίω (klaíō, “I make known, famous”), Welsh clywed (“to hear”), Latin clueō (“I am famous”), Lithuanian klausýti, Old Church Slavonic слѹшати (slušati, “to hear”), Sanskrit श्रोषति (śróṣati). Related to loud and German lauschen.
Pronunciation[edit]
- enPR: lĭs'ən, lĭs'n, IPA(key): /ˈlɪs.ən/, [ˈlɪs.n̩]
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪsən
- Hyphenation: lis‧ten
Verb[edit]
listen (third-person singular simple present listens, present participle listening, simple past and past participle listened)
- (intransitive) To pay attention to a sound or speech.
- Please listen carefully as I explain. I like to listen to music.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest[1]:
- 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.
- (intransitive) To expect or wait for a sound, such as a signal.
- You should listen for the starting gun.
- 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., OCLC 580270828, page 01:
- 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.
- 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 4, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219:
- He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then to listen, and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze.
- (intransitive) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent.
- Listen, the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK? Good children listen to their parents.
- 1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473:
- Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest […].
- (transitive, archaic) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XX:
- ‘But, sir, lyars ye have lystened, and that hath caused grete debate betwyxte you and me.’
- 1592, William Shakespeare, 1 Hen VI: v 3
- Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XX:
Usage notes[edit]
In English, listen and hear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. To hear represents automatic, unconscious, or passive perception of sound, while listen generally represents intentional, conscious, or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. The difference is expressed in the following quotation:
- As the silence took hold in the darkness, Sam realized that she had been hearing, though not listening to, various low-level sounds—the hum of air conditioning and life support, the pulse of some faraway oxygen pump, the faint buzz of the electrical and lighting systems. —Justin Richards (1999) Demontage, chapter 5, page 92.
A similar distinction exists between see and watch in English.
Quotations[edit]
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:listen.
Synonyms[edit]
- (to pay attention): attend, behear, give ear, hark, hear, heed, list, mind, note, pay attention
- (to expect or wait for a sound): await, anticipate, expect, wait for
- (to accept advice or instruction): agree, assent, hearken, mind, obey
- (to hear): hear, mind, heed
- See also Thesaurus:listen
Antonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to pay attention to a sound
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to expect or wait for a sound
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to accept advice or obey instruction
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to hear (something)
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Noun[edit]
listen (plural listens)
- An instance of listening.
- Synonym: (of recorded audio) play
- Give the motor a listen and tell me if it sounds off.
- 2016 March 29, Victor Luckerson, “There's a New Way To Listen To All the Remixes You Want”, in Time[2]:
- The diss song, “Back to Back,” now has more than 124 million listens, a sign that the streaming can attract a sizable audience for a single track.
See also[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Czech[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
listen m inan
Further reading[edit]
- listen in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- listen in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Danish[edit]
Noun[edit]
listen c
Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Noun[edit]
listen
- Plural form of list
Anagrams[edit]
German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
listen (weak, third-person singular present listet, past tense listete, past participle gelistet, auxiliary haben)
- to list
Conjugation[edit]
| infinitive | listen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | listend | ||||
| past participle | gelistet | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| present | ich liste | wir listen | i | ich liste | wir listen |
| du listest | ihr listet | du listest | ihr listet | ||
| er listet | sie listen | er liste | sie listen | ||
| preterite | ich listete | wir listeten | ii | ich listete1 | wir listeten1 |
| du listetest | ihr listetet | du listetest1 | ihr listetet1 | ||
| er listete | sie listeten | er listete1 | sie listeten1 | ||
| imperative | list (du) liste (du) |
listet (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
- Liste f
Further reading[edit]
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Noun[edit]
listen m or f
Spanish[edit]
Verb[edit]
listen
- Second-person plural (ustedes) imperative form of listar.
- Second-person plural (ustedes) present subjunctive form of listar.
- Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes?) present subjunctive form of listar.
Swedish[edit]
Noun[edit]
listen
- definite singular of list
Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪsən
- Rhymes:English/ɪsən/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Communication
- en:Hearing
- Czech words suffixed with -en
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech masculine nouns
- Czech inanimate nouns
- cs:Botany
- Danish non-lemma forms
- Danish noun forms
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch noun forms
- German words suffixed with -en
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German terms with homophones
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German weak verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Bokmål noun forms
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Spanish forms of verbs ending in -ar
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish noun forms