Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “listen” come from?

Listen comes from Middle English listenen, Old English hlysnan, Proto-Germanic hlusnōną and hlusēną, tracing ultimately to Proto-Indo-European ḱlew- and ḱel-.

listen (English): To pay attention to a sound or speech; To expect...

Definitions

  1. To pay attention to a sound or speech; To expect...

Ancestry of “listen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlistenen—
2Old Englishhlysnanto listen
3Proto-Germanichlusnijaną—
4Proto-Germanichlusēną—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlew-to hear
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

Words derived from “listen”

  • listening
  • listener
  • listenership
  • listenable
  • listeneth
  • unlistening
  • unlistenable
  • listenest
  • nonlistening
  • relisten
  • listenability
  • nonlistener
  • unlistenably
  • pseudolisten
  • prelisten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →