Wiktionary

listen

See also: Listen

English

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WOTD – 24 December 2008
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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 слушати (slušati, “to hear”), Sanskrit श्रोषति (śróṣati, “an exclamation used in making an offering with fire to the gods or departed spirits”) & Sanskrit श्लोक्य (ślókya, “voice, sound, noisy”)).

Related to loud and German lauschen.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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listen (third-person singular simple present listens, present participle listening, simple past and past participle listened)

  1. (intransitive except in archaic usage) To use one's sense of hearing in an intentional way; to make deliberate use of one's ears; to pay attention to or wait for a specific sound.
    Synonyms: heed, mind, note, pay attention, attend
    Antonym: ignore
    Please listen carefully as I explain.
  2. (intransitive) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent.
    Synonym: mind
    Antonym: disregard
    Listen, the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK?
    Good children listen to their parents.
    • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
      Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest […].

Usage notes

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  • 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

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Synonyms

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Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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listen (plural listens)

  1. 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.
    • 2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books, →ISBN:
      I hadn't spoken to her in a year, but she could still see my listens on the music platform we both used.

Derived terms

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See also

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Anagrams

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Czech

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Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Etymology

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From list +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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listen m inan

  1. (botany) bract

Declension

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This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

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  • “listen”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “listen”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “listen”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Danish

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Noun

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listen c

  1. definite singular of liste
  2. definite singular of list

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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listen

  1. plural of list

Anagrams

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German

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Etymology

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From Liste +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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listen (weak, third-person singular present listet, past tense listete, past participle gelistet, auxiliary haben)

  1. to list
    Synonym: auflisten

Conjugation

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Conjugation of listen (weak, auxiliary haben)
infinitive listen
present participle listend
past participle gelistet
auxiliary haben
indicative subjunctive
singular plural singular plural
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.

Composed forms of listen (weak, auxiliary haben)
perfect
singular plural singular plural
indicative ich habe gelistet wir haben gelistet subjunctive ich habe gelistet wir haben gelistet
du hast gelistet ihr habt gelistet du habest gelistet ihr habet gelistet
er hat gelistet sie haben gelistet er habe gelistet sie haben gelistet
pluperfect
indicative ich hatte gelistet wir hatten gelistet subjunctive ich hätte gelistet wir hätten gelistet
du hattest gelistet ihr hattet gelistet du hättest gelistet ihr hättet gelistet
er hatte gelistet sie hatten gelistet er hätte gelistet sie hätten gelistet
future i
infinitive listen werden subjunctive i ich werde listen wir werden listen
du werdest listen ihr werdet listen
er werde listen sie werden listen
indicative ich werde listen wir werden listen subjunctive ii ich würde listen wir würden listen
du wirst listen ihr werdet listen du würdest listen ihr würdet listen
er wird listen sie werden listen er würde listen sie würden listen
future ii
infinitive gelistet haben werden subjunctive i ich werde gelistet haben wir werden gelistet haben
du werdest gelistet haben ihr werdet gelistet haben
er werde gelistet haben sie werden gelistet haben
indicative ich werde gelistet haben wir werden gelistet haben subjunctive ii ich würde gelistet haben wir würden gelistet haben
du wirst gelistet haben ihr werdet gelistet haben du würdest gelistet haben ihr würdet gelistet haben
er wird gelistet haben sie werden gelistet haben er würde gelistet haben sie würden gelistet haben

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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listen m or f

  1. definite masculine singular of liste
  2. definite masculine singular of list

Spanish

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Verb

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listen

  1. inflection of listar:
    1. third-person plural present subjunctive
    2. third-person plural imperative

Swedish

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Noun

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listen

  1. definite singular of list

Anagrams

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