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# hearken

«hearken» in Mova's school dictionary: **To listen carefully** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (hearken, hearkens, hearkened, hearkening); also spelled harken

### meaning for a pupil

1) (old-fashioned) To listen carefully. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#m1)

2) (hearken back to) To go back to or remind people of something from the past. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

An old, poetic word found in the Bible, old stories and songs: «Hearken unto me». Kipling's Just So Stories use the old storyteller's style («Hear and attend and listen»), close to «hearken». Today «hark back» or «hearken back» means to recall the past.

### examples

- «Hearken, children, to my tale,» said the old storyteller. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x1)
- The Bible says, «Hearken unto me, O my people.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x2)
- The design hearkens back to the old Victorian style. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x3)
- They would not hearken to the warning and the boat sank. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x4)
- The song «Hark! the herald angels sing» uses the short form «hark». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x5)
- Hearken to the wind in the trees. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x6)
- "Well, then, hearken now!" cried the Tsar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/#x7)

### note

Old-fashioned; today say «listen». Pronounced HAR-kun (the e is silent). US spelling «harken» also used. «Hark!» is a shorter old word meaning «Listen!» «Hearken unto» = listen to (old Bible English).

### In the corpora

- [and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.594/)
- [because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.738/)
- [Now therefore, my son, hearken to my voice according to that which I command thee.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.781/)
- [Now therefore, my son, hearken to my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.821/)
- [and that Jacob hearkened to his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram;](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.832/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «hearken» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hearken/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.