English
listening
Listening comes from Middle English listnynge, from Old English hlysnende, present participle of 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*hlusnijanąreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlysnanas hlysnende‘to listen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500listnynge
- Englishearliest quotation 1912listening
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlusnijanąreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlysnanas hlysnende‘to listen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500listnynge
- Englishearliest quotation 1912listening
Earliest quotation: 1912, Zane Grey, New York: “The safest cover lay close under the wall of…”
Formed from listen + -ing
Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’
Proto-Germanic *hlusēną
Proto-Germanic *hlusnijaną
Old English hlysnan ‘to listen’
Middle English listenen
English listen
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’
loud, client, scout, linn, leer, shruti, lithe, umlaut, 14 more
Another origin of listening
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500listnynge
- Englishtodaylistening
Today it means
adj Of something or someone that listens.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- / listening