Etymology

behear

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Today it means: To give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to. Full definition →

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The story

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”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.