Listen, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Listened; p. pr. & vb. n. Listening.]
Etymology: [OE. listnen, listen, lustnen, lusten, AS. hlystan; akin to hlyst hearing, OS. hlust, Icel. hlusta to listen, hlust ear, AS. hlosnian to wait in suspense, OHG. hlosen to listen, Gr. loud. sq. root41. See Loud, and cf. List to listen.]
1. To give close attention with the purpose of hearing; to give ear; to hearken; to attend. When we have occasion to listen, and give a more particular attention to same sound, the tympanum is drawn to a more than ordinary tension. Holder.
2. To give heed; to yield to advice; to follow admonition; to obey. Listen to me, and by me be ruled. Tennyson. To listen after, to take an interest in. [Obs.] Soldiers note forts, armories, and magazines; scholars listen after libraries, disputations, and professors. Fuller.
Syn. -- To attend; hearken. See Attend.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Listen, v. t.
To attend to. [Obs.] Shak.
Shades of meaning
Between listen and hear is a difference like that between the words look and see. (Compare synonyms for look.) To hear is simply to become conscious of sound, to listen is to make a conscious effort or endeavor to hear. We may hear without listening, as words suddenly uttered in an adjoining room; or we may listen without hearing, as to a distant speaker. In listening the ear is intent upon the sound; in attending the mind is intent upon the thought, tho listening implies some attention to the meaning or import of the sound. To heed is not only to attend, but to remember and observe. Harken is nearly obsolete.
Prepositions
We listen for what we expect or desire to hear; we listen to what we actually do hear; listen for a step, a signal, a train; listen to the debate.