Meanings
comparative more hearsome · superlative most hearsome · alternative obsolete hearsum
- rareReady to hear; obedient; compliant; dutiful; devout.
"[…] Thou dost like a hearsome wife, thou dost ever say."
1863, Henry Mayhew, The boyhood of Martin Luther1 more example
In that he mis-bade (ruled) his monks in many things and the monks meant it lovingly to him and bade him that he should hold (treat) them rightly and love them and they would be faithful to him and hearsome (obedient).
1880, Joseph Angus, The handbook of specimens of English literature
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*hauʀisam
- Old Englishhīersum
- Middle Englishhersum
- Englishhearsome
From Middle English hersum, ihersum, from Old English hīersum, ġehīersum (“obedient”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauʀisam, *gahauʀisam, equivalent to hear + -some. Cognate with West Frisian hearsum (“obedient”), Dutch gehoorzaam (“obedient, dutiful, law-abiding”), Low German horzaam, hursam (“obedient”), German gehorsam (“obedient, submissive, subdued”), Swedish hörsam (“obedient”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
hearsome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hearsome
“hearsome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hearsome. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hearsome,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hearsome.
Source: hearsome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.