English
listen
Listen comes from Middle English listenen, from Old English hlysnan ‘to listen’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlusēnąreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlusnijanąreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlysnan‘to listen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500listenen
- Englishearliest quotation 1485listen
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlusēnąreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlusnijanąreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlysnan‘to listen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500listenen
- Englishearliest quotation 1485listen
Earliest quotation: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur: “'But, sir, lyars ye have lystened, and that hath…”
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’
loud, client, scout, linn, leer, shruti, lithe, umlaut, 14 more
Today it means
verb To use one's sense of hearing and auditory cognition in an intentional way; to make deliberate use of one's ears; to pay attention to or wait for a specific sound.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- / listen