listen

Etymology

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). Related to loud and German lauschen.

verb

1. (intransitive) To pay attention to a sound or speech.
   Please listen carefully as I explain.  I like to listen to music.
   He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement. 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
   I'm listening to what you say / Even though I look the other way / But you could never understand / The feeling of what I'm needing 2007, KT Tunstall (lyrics and music), “Saving My Face”, in Drastic Fantastic
2. (intransitive) To expect or wait for a sound, such as a signal.
   You should listen for the starting gun.
3. (intransitive) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent.
   Listen, the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK?  Good children listen to their parents.
4. (transitive, archaic) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.
   'But, sir, lyars ye have lystened, and that hath caused grete debate betwyxte you and me.' 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XX

noun

1. An instance of listening.
   Give the motor a listen and tell me if it sounds off.
   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. March 29 2016, Victor Luckerson, “There's a New Way To Listen To All the Remixes You Want”, in Time