hearing
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/3
All three words relate to perceiving sound, but they highlight different aspects. 'Hearing' refers to the passive, physical ability of the ear — you can hear something without choosing to (e.g., 'The noise was so loud that everyone heard it'). 'Listening' is an active, intentional skill: you focus your attention on a sound to understand it (e.g., 'She listened carefully to the instructions'). 'Ear' in its metaphorical sense means a developed sensitivity, often for music or language (e.g., 'He has a good ear for accents'). In everyday usage: 'My hearing is fine, but I need to practice listening more carefully.'
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'hearing' comes from Old English 'hēran' (to hear), which traces back through Proto-Germanic *hausijaną to the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱewh₂-, meaning 'to perceive' or 'to hear.' The noun form appeared in Old English as 'hērung' (the act of listening), and by the 1300s it was being used for both the sense of hearing and formal legal proceedings. The adjective sense ('able to hear') emerged in the mid-1800s, originally in medical and educational contexts describing people who are not deaf.