| 释义 |
▪ I. hear, v.|hɪə(r)|
Pa. tense and pa. pple. heard |hɜːd|. Forms: inf. 1 híeran, hýran, héran, 2–5 heren, 4–5 heere(n, 3–6 here, 6–7 heare, 6– hear; also 3 (Lay.) hæren, (Orm.) herenn, 3–4 heoren, 3–5 s.w. hure(n, 4 hyere(n, hiere(n, 4–5 hir(e, s.w. huyre, Sc. heyre, 4–6 her, hyre, 5 2nd sing. harst; Sc. 5–6 heire, 5– heir. pa. tense 1 híerde, hýrde, hérde, 2–6 herde, 4–6 herd, hearde, 4– heard; also 3 heorde, (Orm.) heorrde, 3–4 herede, 3–5 hirde, hurde, 3–6 harde, 4–7 (Sc. –9) hard. pa. pple. 1 ᵹehíered, -hýred, -héred, 2 hered, 2–6 herd, 6– heard; also 3 (Orm.) herrd, heorrd, 3–5 hurd, 4 y-hyerd, 5 y-herd, 4–6 harde, 4–7 (Sc. –9) hard.
[Com. Teut. vb.: OE., early WS. híeran, late WS. hýran, Anglian héran (:—*héarjan) = OFris. hêra, hôra (:—*hôrja) (WFris. hearren, Satl. hêra), OS. hôrjan, hôrean (MLG., MDu. hôren, Du. hooren), OHG. hôrren (MHG. hœren, Ger. hören), ON. heyra (Norw. höyra, Sw. höra, Da. höre), all:—*haurjan = Goth. hausjan:—OTeut. *hauzjan. Beside the simple vb., OE. had, like the other old Teutonic langs., the compound ᵹehíeran (Goth. gahausjan) in the same sense, but perhaps with greater implication of completeness of action. In some uses ᵹehíeran was more frequent in OE. than the simple vb., so that the latter is rare or not evidenced; it occurs more frequently in Old Northumbrian, and becomes commoner after 1200, perhaps under Norse influence. The pa. pple. in ᵹe-, in early ME. southern dialect, may belong to either verb. See yhere.
Cognates of hauzjan outside Teutonic are unknown. Conjectures of its relationship to the root auz- ear, to L. audīre, and Gr. ἀκούειν, are all extremely doubtful.]
1. a. intr. To perceive, or have the sensation of, sound; to possess or exercise the faculty of audition, of which the specific organ is the ear. The proper verb to express this faculty or function.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 15 Ðy læs eᵹum hia ᵹeseað and earum herað [Ags. G. ᵹehyron]. Ibid. 16 Eadᵹo biðon..earo iuere forðon héras hia [Ags. G. hiᵹ ᵹehyraþ]. c1200Ormin 15501 And dumbe menn and dæfe he ȝaff To spekenn wel and herenn. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints, Mathou 62 Als þai tuk fra men þe sycht, And for to here to haf na mycht. 1382Wyclif Matt. xi. 15 He that hath eeris of heerynge, heere he. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 566/44 Audio, to huyre. 1526Tindale Matt. xi. 15 He that hath eares to heare, let him here. 1599Shakes. Much Ado iv. i. 89 Leonato, I am sorry you must heare. c1600― Sonn. xxiii, To heare with eies belongs to loves fine wit. 1611Bible Deut. iv. 28 Ye shall serue gods..which neither see, nor heare. 1785Reid Int. Powers ii. i, We cannot see without eyes, nor hear without ears. Ibid., The ear is not that which hears; but the organ by which we hear. 1875Jowett Plato I. 54 [He] whispered..so that Menexenus should not hear. a1898Mod. He does not hear readily; he is dull of hearing.
b. to hear of both ears, not to hear of that ear (see ear n.1 3 d), on that side (see quot. 1617).
1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 16 b, The kyng was required to purchase his deliverance..but he could not heare on that side. a1617Bayne On Eph. i, If he have no mind to perform it, we say, hee cannot heare on that side. 1624Bp. R. Montagu Gagg Pref. 9 We should have heard thereof on both eares to a purpose.
2. a. trans. To perceive (sound, or something that emits or causes sound); to have cognizance of by means of the ear or auditory sense.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 17 ᵹewillnadon..ᵹehera ða ilco ᵹe heres and ne herdon [Ags. G. ᵹehyran þa þing þe ᵹe ᵹehyrað, and hiᵹ ne ᵹehyrdon]. c1175Lamb. Hom. 47 Þeos ilke weord..god ha beoð to heren [cf. 49 for to iheren godes weordes]. c1200Vices & Virtues 11 He it ne herde. c1200Ormin 10850 Þær wass þe Faderr heorrd anan Off heoffne þurrh an steffne. a1300Cursor M. 2849 Sir loth wijf þis cri sco hard. 1382Wyclif Luke x. 24 Many prophetis and kyngis wolden..heere tho thingis, that ȝe heere, and thei herden not. c1440Gesta Rom. lix. 243 (Harl.) He harde a voyse seing to him, ‘Whi erte thowe so hevy?’ 1538Starkey England i. i. 20 Thyngys wych we se, fele, or her. 1563W. Fulke Meteors (1640) 27 Although the lightning appeare unto us, a good pretty while before the thunderclap be heard. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 35 Lay thine eare close to the ground, and list if thou can heare the tread of Trauellers. 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 44 So great a noise, that one can hardly hear his own words. 1715De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. i. (1841) I. 15 How can he hear what I say? 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xxvii. 215 The men shouted..and I distinctly heard them through the falling snow.
b. predicated of the ear.
[c825Vesp. Psalter ix. 38 [x. 17] Lustas heortan heora ᵹeherde eare ðin. ]c1375Sc. Leg. Saints, Egipciane 428 Na þine eris to her it sa lange ma nocht thole. 1382Wyclif 1 Cor. ii. 9 Yȝe syȝ not, ne eere herde..what thingis God made redy bifore to hem that louen him. 1586B. Young Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iv. (1586) 191 Ladie Lelias eares are to daintie to heare anie reasons. a1835Mrs. Hemans Better Land iv, Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy.
c. not to hear day nor door: not to hear anything distinctly. Sc.
1768Ross Helenore 86 (Jam.) That day nor door a body cudna hear. 1816Scott Old Mort. viii, ‘She's as deaf as Corra-linn—we canna mak her hear day nor door.’
3. a. As with other verbs of perception, the subst. or pronominal object may be followed by an inf., pres. pple. (orig. vbl. n. with a-), or pa. pple., expressing an action performed or suffered by it.
The infin. now takes to after the passive, but not after the active vb.: we heard him groan; he was heard to groan. But exceptions to both rules are to be met with: see ¶
a1000Beowulf (Z.) 1346 Ic þæt lond-buend leode mine..secᵹan hyrde. c1200Ormin 901 Godd..wollde himm sellf Þa belless herenn ringenn. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 279 He hurde angles synge an hey. c1340Cursor M. 550 (Trin.) Of þese þinges I haue herde seide Was adames body to gider leide. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints, Petrus 58 As he mycht heyre þe cok craw. c1440Gesta Rom. ii. 6 (Harl. MS.) Whenne þe seruauntis hirde hire lord crye. 1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 117 Quhen I heir nem⁓myt his name. 1551T. Wilson Logike (1580) 33 As I heard once a doctor of Divinitie..earnestly defendyng his cause with examples. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. v. 113, I heare a Bird so sing. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 141 To assemble the people..to heare it read. 1716Addison Freeholder No. 11 (Seager), Mr. Motteux has been heard to say it more than once. 1737Pope Hor. Epist. ii. ii. 93 A Poet begs me, I will hear him read. 1782Cowper Gilpin 206 Whereat his horse did snort, as he Had heard a lion roar. 1850Tennyson In Mem. x. 2, I hear the bell struck in the night. Mod. I heard a clock striking; I heard the clock strike three.
¶1574tr. Littleton's Tenures 8 b, Yf that childe..bee harde crye. 1647W. Browne tr. Gomberville's Polexander I. 180, I heare the magnanimous Benzaida to accuse the ingratefull Nephizus.
b. Hence, by ellipsis of such objects as people, persons, some one, before the infinitives say, speak, talk, tell, the phrases to hear say, hear tell, etc., of which some are still in dialectal or colloquial, and occasionally literary, use. Formerly also with pa. pple., as to hear told (obs.).
a1000Beowulf (Z.) 582 No ic wiht fram þe swylcra searo⁓niða secgan hyrde. a1123O.E. Chron. an. 1114 Ða þe munecas of Burch hit herdon sæᵹen. c1220Bestiary 584 He hauen herd told of ðis mere..half man and half fis. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 391 Kyng Macolon hurde telle her-of in Scotlonde. 1465Sir J. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 531 II. 244 When Debnam herd sey how that I began to gadyr sylvyr. c1470Henry Wallace iv. 379, I her spek of that man. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxv. 225 Ye neuer herd speke of a trewere nor more noble man. 1589Cogan Haven Health (1636) 139, I have heard tell of a bishop of this land, that would have eaten fryed frogs. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 322 He was..neuer afterwards seene or heard tell of. 1640tr. Verdere's Rom. Romants ii. 71 The burning Knight, of whom it may be you have heard talk. Ibid. iii. 59 Hee would by no means hear speak of sleeping till Florisbell had related [etc.]. 1861Geo. Eliot Silas M. vi, We heared tell as he'd sold his own land. 1892G. F. X. Griffith tr. Fouard's St. Peter 131 Even those who had heard tell of his conversion did not know [etc.].
c. Hence the gerundial phrase † (by) hearing say, (by) hearing it said (by) hearsay. Obs. or dial.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 304 Edward vnderstode, þorgh oft heryng say, How [etc.]. 1491Caxton Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) i. xxxvii. 49 a/2 He sayde soo by heryng saye. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cxxvii. [cxxiii.] 361, I knowe nothyng of the mater but by heryng saye. a1533― Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) B v b, Thei wrote by heryng saie. Mod. Sc. They knew by hearing tell of it.
d. to like to hear oneself speak, talk (and similar phrases): to be fond of talking; to hear oneself think: usu. in neg. contexts, not to be able to think because there is too much noise going on.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 156 Pray what sawcie Merchant was this?..Rom.: A Gentleman Nurse that loves to heare himselfe talke. 1781George III Lett. (1927) V. 304 Considering the great love modern Orators have of hearing themselves speak. 1920R. Macaulay Potterism vi. iii. 226, I wish everyone would shut up, so that we could hear ourselves think. 1927H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. Mann's Magic Mountain II. vii. 779 You won't be able to hear yourselves think. 1934J. E. Mansion Harrap's French & Eng. Dict. 272/1 Discoureur... C'est un grand d., he likes to hear himself talk. 1962New Yorker 12 May 38/1 You have to wear earplugs to hear yourself think.
4. To exercise the auditory function intentionally; to give ear, hearken, listen.
a. intr.
[c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xv. 10 ᵹehyrað and onᵹytaþ.] c1340Cursor M. 271 heading (Trin.) Hereþ now of þe trinite dere And of þe makyng of þis world here. 1382Wyclif 1 Sam. iii. 9 Spek, Lord, for thi seruaunt herith. c1460Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 17 Harstow, boy? ther is a podyng in the pot. 1482J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 27 A castelle that spekethe, and a womane that wille here, thai wille be gotene bothe. 1611Bible 2 Sam. xx. 16 Then cried a wise woman out of the Citie, Heare, heare. 1702Rowe Tamerl. i. i. 443 When first thy moving Accents Won me to hear.
b. trans. To listen to (a person or thing) with more or less attention or understanding; to give ear to, hearken to; to give audience to. Orig. with dative of the person or thing. to hear out, to listen to to the end: see out; to hear out: also, to distinguish (the sounds of something heard).
a1000Juliana 371 (Gr.) He minum hraðe leahtrum ᵹelenge larum hyreð. c1160Hatton Gosp. John viii. 47 Se þe is of gode he herð [Ags. G. ᵹehyrð] godes word. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 And bigan þat folc..to here his wise lore. c1205Lay. 1329 Ne bið na man weri heora songes to heræn. c1230Hali Meid. 3 Her me, dohter. a1300Cursor M. 20510 Sittes stell now..And hers [Fairf. heris] now þis mirines. c1440Gesta Rom. lvi. 239 (Harl. MS.) He that hurithe the doctrine of the ioyes of paradys. 1475Bk. Noblesse 79 He..disdeyned to hire theym. 1611Bible 1 Sam. xxiv. 9 Wherfore hearest thou mens words? 1617Moryson Itin. i. 137 There is a Chamber [in the Vatican]..wherein Ambassadours are heard. Ibid. iii. 32 The Pharises..were to be heard, as sitting in the chaire of Moses. 1637Shirley Gamester iii. (Dodsley O. Pl. 1780 IX. 63) It will be inconvenient to hear out your curranto. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xiv. iii, I desire only to be heard out. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 81 Hear my story, O fisherman. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 363 There was an agreement between us that you should hear me out. 1922R. S. Woodworth Psychol. x. 230 By careful attention and training we can ‘hear out’ the separate overtones from the total blend.
c. With two objects, as to hear (one) his lessons: to listen to the recitation of his lessons.
1804Lady Hunter in Sir M. Hunter's Jrnl. (1894) 202, I..have heard George and James their lessons. 1811L. M. Hawkins C'tess & Gertr. (1812) II. 256 He hears some of the younger ones their lessons. 1894Blackmore Perlycross 111 Three pupils, and not a lesson have I heard them.
5. a. trans. To attend and listen to (a lecture, sermon, play, musical performance, etc.); to form one of the audience at.
a1300Cursor M. 9764 (Gött.) He mote þaim giue his benisoun, Þat wil gladly here þis sarmoun. c1375Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. iv. 2 Hou mon scholde here hys masse. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. ix, Vpon the morowe whan they had herde masse. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 9 He and the Quene heard evensong. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. ii. 136 They thought it good you heare a play. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. ii. 95 Many persons were sent to prison for hearing mass.
b. ‘To be a hearer of; to sit under the preaching of; as, what minister do you hear? (A colloquial use of the word.)’ Webster, 1828. Also absol.
1783Cowper Let. 8 Sept., There are, however, many who have left the Church, and hear among the Dissenters.
6. trans. To listen to judicially in a court of law; to give (one) a hearing; to try (a person or a case).
c1160Hatton Gosp. John vii. 51 Demð ure eæ aniᵹene man bute hyne man ær hyre [Ags. G. ᵹehyre]? 1382Wyclif Deut. i. 17 The litil ȝe shulen here as the more. 1484Lett. etc. Rich. III (Rolls) I. 79 If any persone wolle come and compleyn of any of the said baillieffes that they shalbe herd. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. Table 62 He quha first accuses, is first hard. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iii. 120 His Royall selfe in Iudgement comes to heare The cause. 1709Addison Tatler No. 121 ⁋1 They are so in haste, that they never hear out the Case. 1844H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 115 Three Judges were appointed to the special duty of hearing appeals from the courts below. 1891Law Reports Weekly Notes 202/1 The plaintiff ought to have had an opportunity of being heard before he was dismissed.
7. a. To listen to with compliance or assent; to accede to, grant (a request or prayer). Chiefly in scriptural use.
971Blickl. Hom. 49 Gif him mon þonne hyran nelle, þonne mot se mæsse-preost hit wrecan. c1175Lamb. Hom. 63 Ah lauerd god her ure bone. a1300Cursor M. 10499 ‘Anna’, he said, ‘herd es þi bone, Þou salt haf child and þat wel sone’. 1382Wyclif Matt. xviii. 15 Ȝif he shal heere thee, thou hast wonnen thi brother. ― Luke i. 13 Thi preier is herd. 1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 188 Though ye deserue not to be harde for youre selfe, yet that he wylle graunte you youre askynges. 1562Winȝet Four Scoir Thre Quest. Wks. 1888 I. 91 That altar, vpon the quhilk the prayaris of all acceptit and hard be our heuinly Father are offerit. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 73 The king..sent to Rome with his excuse, which the Pope woulde in no wise heere. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 656 Orpheus' dying Pray'rs at length are heard. 1827Keble Chr. Y. St. Peter's Day ii. 1 The prayer is heard.
b. to hear of, with will (would) and negative: to refuse to listen to, entertain the notion of, consent to, or permit.
1584D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 274 He would in no case heare of reconciliation. 1658W. Burton Itin. Anton. 150 The learned Antiquary will not hear of it. 1785Mrs. S. Boys Coalition I. 143 She would not hear of it. 1796C. Smith Marchmont IV. 347 He would by no means hear of her going. 1879Mrs. Oliphant Within Precincts (Tauchn.) II. xxix. 237 Mother would not hear of her staying.
c. to hear to, to listen to, to hear of. U.S.
1833H. Barnard in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1918) XIII. 379, I made a move to depart—but they would not hear to that. 1869Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Folks xx. 243 She has her own ways and doings, and she won't hear to reason. 1915E. Poole Harbor 202 When I tried at last to turn our talk to our affairs at home, at first she would not hear to it.
†8. To obey. Obs. (Only OE., ME., and arch.) Orig. with dat.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark iv. 41 Hua..is ðes þæte ec wind and sæ herað him. c1000ælfric Exod. xiv. 31 Þæt Israhelisce folc..hyrdon Gode and Moise his þeowe. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 214 [Crist] ordeynede many folk to here alweie þis newe lawe. 1700Prior Carmen Seculare 215 The fiery Pegasus disdains To mind the Rider's Voice, or hear the Reins. a1729Congreve Ode to Godolphin (T.), The beast..Whom soon he tam'd to use, and taught to hear the reins.
†9. intr. To be subject (to); to belong. Obs. [So MHG. hœren, beside gehœren.]
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §22 Þas land eall hyrað to Denemearcan. 940Chart. Eadmund in Cod. Dipl. III. 415 Se haᵹa æt Wiltune ðe hyrð into Wiliᵹ. c1205Lay. 24062 Þa hafuenes alle, þe herden to þan londes. a1300Shires of Eng. in O.E. Misc. 146 Her-to hereþ viii store schire.
10. a. trans. To learn or get to know by hearing; to receive or obtain as information; to be told; to be informed of.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xvi. 2 Huætd ðis ic hero from ðe? [Ags. G. Hwi ᵹehyre ic þis be þe?] c1160Hatton Gosp. ibid., Hwi here ich þis be þe? c1250Gen. & Ex. 1370 Sum good tiding heren or sen. c1290Beket 814 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 130 To court eft-soone he wende, For-to heore [v.r. hure] þe kingus wille. a1300Cursor M. 4192 His fader of him hirs na tiþand. c1450Merlin 32, I shall often..brynge soche tidinges as thow shalt put in thi boke, And wite it well, peple shulbe glad euer to heiren it. 1529More Dyaloge i. Wks. 159/1 The Jewes that were vnworthy to hyre it, were offended. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 377 The next newes that was heard of him, was, that he was slaine in Lorraine. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 888 Adam, soon as he heard The fatal Trespass don by Eve. 1781Cowper Conversation 804 Great changes and new manners have occurred, And blest reforms, that I have never heard. 1893W. T. Wawn S. Sea Islanders 53 The inquiry over, I heard nothing more about the matter.
b. with obj. clause.
a1000Beowulf (Z.) 2173 Hyrde ic þæt he ðone heals-beah Hyᵹde ᵹesealde. c1050Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 321 We habbað on gastlicum ᵹewritum oft ᵹe⁓hyred þæt us ys beboden. c1160Hatton Gosp. John ix. 32 Ne herde [Ags. G. ᵹehyrde] we næfre..þæt anyᵹ un-tynde þas eaᵹen. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 63 Nu ȝe hauen herd þat ure drihten bit turnen to him, hereð nu o hu uele wise. 1382Wyclif Gen. xlii. 2, I haue herd that wheet is sold in Egipte. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 5 Let me here what you call Cosmographie. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 113, I likewise heare that Valentine is dead. 1670Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 21, I am very sorry to heare that the small pox increases so as to fright you from Exton. 1674N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. (1677) 193 Garlick I have heard will do the like. 1746Tom Thumb's Trav. 32 The courteous Behaviour of the Inhabitants, which, I hear, is habitual to them. 1808Sketches of Character (1813) I. 198, I hear there are no lodgings to be had.
11. a. absol. or intr. To be informed, learn; to receive information or tidings of, or obtain news concerning; to receive a message or letter from. Also, (pregnantly) to receive a reprimand from.
c1320Cast. Love 1371 Ȝe habbeþ i-herd nou riht Of his strengþe and of his miht. c1400Destr. Troy 1866 Ne I hardely herde of hym hade in my lyue. a1400–50Alexander 2667 As sone as Darye þe derfe of þis dede heris. a1533Ld. Berners Huon cxxvii. 466 They neuer had hard of suche a myracle. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. V, 78 Therle of Suffolk..hearing of their doynges. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iv. iii. 36–8, I heard no Letter from my Master..Nor heare I from my Mistris, who did promise To yeeld me often tydings. 1776Trail of Nundocomar 23/1 Would you not have heard if he had been so ill as not to be able to come out? 1830Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 168, I too had been looking to hear from you. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, You shall hear from me in the morning, sir. Mod. When did you hear from your son in South Africa? We hear from him regularly every mail. He has never been heard of since. 1907Munsey's Mag. Dec. 307/1 If those louts up at the castle neglected to have dinner ready.., they would hear from him... If they didn't [spring at his word] they always heard from him.
b. to hear of it: to be spoken to about it; to be called to account for it. colloq.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 124 Send vs your Prisoners, or you'l heare of it. 1658W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. Verse 15. xiv. §3 (1669) 161/2 We..look to find them at hand on the shelf, clean and fit for use, or our servants shall hear of it. Mod. You'd better not do it again, or you'll hear of it.
c. to have heard of: to have become or been made aware of (a fact, etc.) in the course of one's experience; to have heard tell of. Freq. in negative contexts, often with never.
1907G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island i. 8 Have you ever heard of Garden City? 1925F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby i. 12 ‘Who with?’ I told him. ‘Never heard of them,’ he remarked decisively. 1954W. Faulkner Fable 34, I have heard of your United States Coca-Cola. 1986N.Y. Times 16 Apr. a2/4 Similarly, he said he had never heard of Dr. Jesa Vidic.
†12.
a. To be reported or spoken (well or ill) of. [After Gr. εὖ, κακῶς ἀκούειν, L. bene, male audire.]
1583Babington Commandm. ix. (1637) 85 Desire ever..rather to heare well, than to be rich: yea..to leave unto thy posterity an honest report and name, before heaps of any riches. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 23 O! what of gods then boots it to be borne, If old Aveugles sonnes so evill heare? 1652Bp. Hall Invis. World ii. i, Aristotle himself is wont to hear ill for his opinion of the soul's mortality. 1658–9Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 147 You have been three days upon it. It hears ill abroad. 1706Stanhope Paraphr. III. 502 If such Indulgences hear ill in the World, and naturally expose a Man to Censure and Disrepute.
b. to hear rather: to prefer to hear, to prefer to be addressed or called. (A Latinism.)
1667Milton P.L. iii. 7 Or hear'st thou rather pure Ethereal stream Whose Fountain who shall tell? 1829Lamb Let. to V. Novello Oct., Dear Fugueist—or hear'st thou rather Contrapuntist?
13. a. The imperative hear!, now usually repeated, hear! hear! (formerly hear him! hear him!) is used as an exclamation to call attention to a speaker's words, and hence has become a general expression of approbation or ‘cheering’.
It is now the regular form of cheering [cheer n.1 8] in the House of Commons, and expresses, according to intonation, admiration, acquiescence, indignation, derision, etc.
1689Sir E. Seymour 19 Feb. in Cobbett Parl. Hist. V. 122, I see gentlemen speak here under great disadvantages..When gentlemen speak with reflections, and cry ‘hear him, hear him’, they [the former] cannot speak with freedom. 1689Sir H. Capel ibid., When Seymour was in the Chair, I have heard ‘Hear him, hear him’, often said in the house. 1762Foote Orators ii. Wks. 1836 II. 176 Ter. Dermot, be easy— Scam. Hear him— Tire. Hear him— Ter. Ay, hear him, hear him. 1768Ld. J. Cavendish Sp. Ho. Com. 8 Dec. in Sir H. Cavendish Deb. (1841) I. 96 Let us..give a dispassionate attention to everything that passes. [Hear!] That very word ‘hear!’ I dread of all others. 1769Sir F. Norton Sp. ibid. 432 The common law is as much the law as the statute law. [Mr. Grenville called out hear! hear!] If the hon. gentleman will hear, by and by he will hear. 1770G. Grenville Sp. 16 Feb. ibid. 461 The House will be obliged to you [the Speaker] for your information. [Hear, Hear!] Mr. Speaker, I beg the House will be silent. I am sure that is disorderly. 1783Gentl. Mag. LIII. ii. 822 As to himself, he was free to acknowledge..the hand which he had in it (A cry of Hear him! Hear him!) By the cry of Hear Him! said his Lordship, gentlemen seem to think I am going to make a confession. 1803in Stanhope Life Pitt (1862) IV. 49 When he [Pitt] sat down there followed three of the..most enthusiastic bursts of applause I ever heard..as far as I observed, however, it was confined to the parliamentary ‘Hear him! Hear him!’ 1812Parl. Deb. 5 May in Examiner 11 May 292/2 Orders were sent off to Mr. Henry to withdraw from the United States.—(Hear, hear!) 1865Lowell Scotch the Snake Prose Wks. 1890 V. 251 One Noble Lord or Honorable Member asking a question, and another Noble Lord or Honorable Member endeavoring to dodge it, amid cries of Hear! Hear!
b. Hence as n. hear, hear! (formerly hear-him), a cheer. Also hear-hear v. intr., to shout ‘hear! hear!’; trans., to acclaim with shouts of ‘hear! hear!’; to cheer. Hence hear-ˈhearer.
1727Pope, etc. Art of Sinking 115 The hear him of the house of commons. 1736Bolingbroke Patriot. (1749) 48 With repeated hear-hims ringing in his ears. 1836Westm. Rev. Apr. 233 The hear hims are more fervent than on almost any other occasion. 1837Dickens Pickw. vii, I thank my honourable friend, if he will allow me to call him so—(four hears, and one certainly from Mr. Jingle)—for the suggestion. 1855― Dorrit i. xxxiv, Hearing, and ohing, and cheering. 1868Disraeli Sp. in Ho. Com. 3 Apr., If the hear-hearers have their way. 1879Sir G. Campbell White & Black 374 The members seemed generally very quiet; there was little ‘Hear, hearing!’ 1883Standard 3 Apr. 5/4 He..‘hear, hears’ the member for Northampton. 1895Daily News 3 Dec. 3/1 Mr. Morley's explanation of his position..was received with sympathetic hear, hears.
▪ II. hear(e
obs. ff. hair, -e, heir, here, higher. |