HEAR - Definition & Meaning for Kids
Meaning 1
Part of speech: Verb
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
Categories: Perceive, Comprehend
Meaning 2
Part of speech: Verb
examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process
Example: The jury had heard all the evidence; The case will be tried in California
Categories: Probe, Examine
Meaning 3
Part of speech: Verb
receive a communication from someone
Example: We heard nothing from our son for five years
Categories: Pick up, Receive
Synonyms
Try, Get word, Get a line, Learn, See
🌱 Word Origin (Etymology)
The word "hear" comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti. It started in Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną. Then it appeared in Proto-West Germanic *hauʀijan. Later, people used it in Old English hīeran. After that, it was Middle English heren. Many other languages have similar words:.
- Saterland Frisian: heere
- West Frisian: hearre
- Dutch: horen
- German: hören
- Norwegian Bokmål: høre
- Norwegian Nynorsk: høyra
- Icelandic: heyra
- Ancient Greek: ἀκούω
🧩 Fun Fact
Words that pass through many languages often accumulate layers of meaning from each culture.