hark

[hahrk]

verb (used without object)

1. to listen attentively; hearken.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic.,  to listen to; hear.

noun

1. a hunter's shout to hounds, as to encourage them in following the scent.

verb phrase

1. hark back

   1. (of hounds) to return along the course in order to regain a lost scent.

   2. to return to a previous subject or point; revert.

      He kept harking back to his early days in vaudeville.

hark

/ hɑːk /

verb

1. (intr; usually imperative) to listen; pay attention

Other Word Forms

• unharked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hark¹

1175–1225; Middle English herken, earlier herkien, Old English *heorcian; cognate with Old Frisian herkia, harkia; akin to Middle Dutch harken, Middle High German, German horchen. See hearken, hear

Word History and Origins

Origin of hark¹

Old English heorcnian to _hearken ; related to Old Frisian herkia, Old High German hōrechen; see _hear

Example Sentences

Doing so, Duffy suggested, would help to usher in a new “golden age of travel” — a phrase that harks back to the mid-20th century flight experience.

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In February 1947 the couturier Christian Dior harked back to the rosy autochrome with his first collection, “Corolle,” named for the petaled cup of a flower and later christened the New Look.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Maybe it was harking back to the rivalry between their fathers, who fought a controversial draw in their second and final meeting in 1993.

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“That harks to Greek mythology or those ancient stories,” she says.

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And what a contrast it was as the 22-year-old Northern Ireland right-back was the shining symbol of a Liverpool display that harked back to their Premier League title-winning best as Real Madrid were swept aside.

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