Dictionary

behear en · VERB

Etymology

From be- (“at, about”) + hear. Cognate with Scots behere, behear (“to hear, hear our cry”), West Frisian beheare (“to administer; manage”), Dutch behoren (“to belong”).

Meanings

1. (dated, transitive) To give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to.
   • All that beheard three witty young men, 'Twas Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John, […] 1826, Robin Hood, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
   • Or behear ye the sheep, to the husbanding rams how they bleat to the shade! Or behear ye the birds, at the Goddess' command how they sing unafraid! 1911, Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, Brother Copas:
   • A' this beheard a little footpage, Fast hid ahind a tree; An' he's awa' to seek his laird, Sae fast as he can hie. 1923, H. P. Lovecraft, The Conservative:
   • We knew that feedback could affect the turntable/arm/cartridge resonances in ways unpleasant and unrealistic to behear. To our surprise, the Linn, compared against the est Japanese and European turntables, did sound better. 1978, Jazz:
   • Still, this is a pretty joyous thing to behear. 2008, The Wire:
   • "The good Lord behear!" he exclaimed, stood stock-still for a moment, and waddled off at top speed towards the back door. "We must tell Aunt at once! […]" 1897, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lloyd Osbourne, Fanny Van de Grift Stevenson, The novels and tales of Robert Louis Stevenson:
   • He has a touch so precise yet delicate that it is a joy to behear. 1972 August 26, Billboard:
   • In some incidental way he beheard him of the poor widow's difficulty, and at once the manhood in him asserted itself. 1877, The Sunday magazine:
   • They worked completely in unison, doubling the parts in a mirror-like fashion that was a sight to behold and a sound to behear. 2012, Alan Goldsher, Modest Mouse:
   • All that beheard his little footepage, As he watered his masters steed […] 1901, A Book of romantic ballads
   • His cymbal wash during the five songs taken from a live Swedish radio broadcast is a wonder to behear. 1996, Musician:
   • "Did you do it yoursel', Grizel ? God behears, she did it hersel!" 1896, Edward Livermore Burlingame, Robert Bridges, Alfred Dashiell, Scribner's magazine, Volume 20:

Forms