Hark
/hɑːrk/noun
To listen or pay attention; used as an exclamation to call attention.
Did you know?Hark is an old English attention-command that became famous in literature and stage dialogue, and it’s historically tied to the same Germanic root as words for hearing and listening.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*harkōną
“to listen, heed”
Old English
OE
heorcian
“to listen, hear”
Middle English
ME
herken
“to listen attentively, heed”
16th Century
English
hark
“listen! pay attention!”
Modern English
English
hark
“an exclamation calling for attention or listening”