hark

hark Definition

hark (härk)

intransitive verb

Now Chiefly Literary to listen carefully: usually in the imperative, with the effect of an exclamation

Etymology: ME herkien (akin to Ger horchen) < ? OE *heorcian or < OE heorcnian: see hearken

transitive verb

Archaic to listen to; hear

hark Idioms

hark back

hark Synonyms

harken, pay attention, give heed; see listen 1.

hark Usage Examples

Object

ye: And, hark ye, you will avoid debt, and bear in mind that your honor is a sacred thing.
back: The film is not a lesson about life in the 50s, but a harking back, aimed at people who remember those times.

Used with why or when

Modifying Another Word

back: The " Famous " bit in fact harks back to the sponsors of the 1981 event: Famous Grouse whiskey.
again: This again harks back to the key theme of data integration.
still: Indeed, some gutter level tabloids are still harking on about Fergie being pushed out this summer.
also: So I'm also harking back to an age of classic songwriting.
not: We are not harking back to some mythical bygone age of policing.
constantly: They ' constantly hark back to the golden age of their youth.

Preposition: in

way: Her harmonies are contemporary and here they seem to hark back in an ingenious way to plainchant.

hark Quotes

Hark! ah, the Nightingale! The tawny-throated! Hark! from that moonlit cedar what a burst! What triumph! harköwhat pain!

—Arnold, Matthew

Hark! how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of kings. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.

—Wesley, Charles

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