Hark Meaning
/hɑː(ɹ)k/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo listen attentively.
nounA whisper
Sentence Examples
"What the hell?! Hark, what have you done?" "Nothing yet. ...No, I have."
Hark! midnight from the church tower vibrates through the frosty air.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man said, '____, my children, and listen to my warning!'
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old saying '____ ye' was once a common way to tell people to listen very carefully.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English herken, herkien, from Old English *hercian, *heorcian, *hiercian, from Proto-West Germanic *hauʀikōn, *hauʀukōn, derived ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną (“to hear”) + formative/intensive -k (see also the related hīeran, whence English hear). Equivalent to hear + -k. Cognate with Scots herk (“to hark”), North Frisian harke (“to hark”), West Frisian harkje (“to listen”), obsolete Dutch horken (“to hark, listen to”), Middle Low German horken (“to hark”), German horchen (“to hark, harken to”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"But harke, I heare the footing of a man."
— c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 182:
"Hark! the herald angels sing / Glory to the new born King"
— 1739, Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, “Hymn for Christmas-Day”, in Hymns and Sacred Poems:
""Hark! The thunder becomes less muttering. It is nearing us, and nearing the earth, too. Hark! One crammed crash! All the vibrations made one by nearness. Another flash. Hold.""
— 1856, Herman Melville, The Lightning Rod Man:
"Loud voices and a renewed uproar were raised in front of the boarding-house[…] "'Tis Missis Murphy's voice," said Mrs. McCaskey, harking."
— 1906, O. Henry, “Between Rounds”, in The Four Million:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man said, '____, my children, and listen to my warning!'
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old saying '____ ye' was once a common way to tell people to listen very carefully.