Etymograph

English

hearing

Hearing comes from Middle English herynge, from hear + -ing.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herynge1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1897hearing1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hearing
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “When this conversation was repeated in detail within the…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heryngeWiktionary, English hearing
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1897hearingWiktionary, English hearing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “When this conversation was repeated in detail within the…”

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Today it means

adj Able to hear, as opposed to deaf.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hearing”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English herynge / hearing