▪ I. ˈhearing, vbl. n.
[f. hear v. + -ing1.]
1. a. The action of the verb hear; perception by the ear or auditory sense; the faculty or sense by which sound is perceived; audition.
| c 1230 Hali Meid. 13 Fif wittes, sihðe & heringe [etc.]. a 1300 Cursor M. 13107 Þe def has hering, blind has sight. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 10 Suth thyngis..Tyll mannys heryng ar plesand. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. xviii. (1495) 64 Alway the heryng is gendred by ayre smytte. 1509 Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 305 Her herynge sholde haue dulled more and more. 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 232 b, Fayning that he was thycke of hearyng. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 75 Aged eares play treuant at his tales, And yonger hearings are quite rauished. 1597 Gerarde Herbal (1633) 856 Ground-Iuy is commended..for them that are hard of hearing. 1772 Priestley Inst. Relig. (1782) II. 154 Captivating..at the first hearing. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 224 The organ of hearing is not manifest in insects. |
b. in one's hearing, in such a position or way as to be heard by one. within hearing, out of hearing, at such a distance as to be heard, or not heard; within, or out of, hearing distance.
| 1388 Wyclif Ezek. ix. 5 He seide to hem in myn heryng, Go ȝe thorouȝ the citee..and smytte ȝe. c 1470 Henry Wallace x. 455 Quhen that the Bruce out off thair heryng wer. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 200 [He] curssed his sonne in the hering of those that had the guyding of them. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 152 What, out of hearing, gone? No sound, no word? 1596 ― Merch. V. v. i. 241 In the hearing of these manie friends I sweare to thee. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 9 Where stood that renowned Citie of Corinth, in hearing of both Seas. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxx, As soon as we came within hearing, I called out to him by name. 1791 Boswell Johnson (1831) III. 79 It was not said in his hearing. 1862 D. Wilson Preh. Man II. xxiii. 361 Within the hearing of Niagara's voice. |
2. The action of actively giving ear, listening (e.g. to a lecture, sermon, play, etc.); spec. attendance at preaching (dial.); audience. Also fig.
| a 1225 St. Marher. 2 Hercnið alle þe mahen, ant herunge habbeð. c 1340 Cursor M. 13708 (Trin.) Þei ȝaf hering to him vchone. 1529 More Dyaloge i. Wks. 168/2 To gyue diligent hyrynge..and faithfull obedience to the churche. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 390 At that tyme the Archebishop had no further heeryng. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 161 We begge your hearing Patientlie. 1604 Hieron Preacher's Plea Wks. 1624 I. 539 To draw the people to hearing upon the weeke-dayes. 1791 Cowper Let. 26 June, He..has a mother between seventy and eighty, who walks every Sunday eight miles to hearing, as they call it, and back again. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 170 New doctrines ever gain readiest hearing among the common people. |
3. a. The listening to evidence and pleadings in a court of law; the trial of a cause; spec. a trial before a judge without a jury. b. (Sc. Law.) hearing in presence, ‘a formal hearing of counsel before the whole thirteen Judges’ (Bell Dict. Law Sc. 1861).
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 357 The Usher..is willing to give us the hearing, and to determine the controversie. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 141 I'll take my leaue, And leaue you to the hearing of the cause. 1690 Wood Life 15 Jan. (O.H.S.) III. 322 There was to be a hearing between the University and City of Oxon on the 15 January [note, at the barr of the house]. 1705 Hearne Collect. 17 Nov., On ye 14{supt}{suph} Instant..came on the Hearing of y⊇ Election of St. Albans. 1768 Blackstone Comm. (1800) III. 453 The cause is again brought to hearing on the matters of equity reserved, and a final decree is made. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 554 The cause was twice heard in Ireland, on the last of which hearings, before Lord Middleton..he decreed a perpetual injunction against Lord Forbes. 1891 Law Reports Weekly Notes 80/1 [They] attended the hearing before the registrar. |
4. Knowledge by hearing or being informed; esp. in phr. to come to one's hearing.
| c 1450 Lonelich Grail lvi. 322 So long they spoken of this thing..that it cam to hire lordis hering. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxviii. 281 The brute therof came to the herynge of duke Raoull. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. iii Upon the hearing of his Lordships returne. |
5. Something heard; report, rumour, news. dial.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter cxi[i]. 7 Of ivel hering noght drede sal he. 1382 Wyclif Ezek. vii. 26 Trublynge togidre shal come vpon trublynge togidre, and herynge vpon herynge. c 1440 Jacob's Well xxxiv. (E.E.T.S.) 220 Þin erys, þat first spak dyshonest herynges of bacbytyng, flateryng, lesynges, & rybaudrye. ? a 1500 Sir Beues 3680 (Pynson) The pope [of] that herynge was ful glad. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 182 Tis a good hearing, when children are toward, But a harsh hearing, when women are froward. 1611 ― Cymb. iii. i. 4 Whose remembrance..will to Eares and Tongues Be Theame, and hearing euer. 1666 Pepys Diary 4 Aug., De Ruyter dares not come on shore..Which is a very good hearing. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge xlviii. (1892) 348 This is a pleasant hearing. I thank Heaven for it. |
6. A ‘lecture’, a scolding. dial.
| 1816 Scott Old Mort. xiv, ‘After she had gi'en us a hearing on our duties.’ 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inher. xli, [She] left the room for the purpose..of giving her a good hearing. |
7. attrib. and Comb., as hearing-day, hearing-distance, hearing-organ, hearing-tube; hearing aid, a sound-amplifier for the hard of hearing; hearing-fee, the fee paid by a suitor to an official of the court before the case is heard; hearing-trumpet = ear-trumpet.
| 1922 Lancet 11 Mar. 462/2 These electrical instruments should go far towards destroying the too general prejudice against the use of *hearing aids. 1950 Lancet 11 Nov. 532/2 Practical courses..on audiometry and hearing-aids. 1951 Consumer Reports Jan. 13/1 Hearing aids and batteries are..supplied without charge. 1960 ‘H. Carmichael’ Seeds of Hate ii. 18 A grey-haired woman who wore a hearing aid. 1969 B. Patten Notes to Hurrying Man 57 Much later on in life I wear my hearing-aid. |
| 1860 Fitzroy in Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 343 What is called ‘a good *hearing-day’, may be mentioned among the signs of wet. |
| 1887 Cassell's Fam. Mag. 141/2 You must pay 2s. for every pound you sue for, for *hearing-fee. 1895 Daily News 4 Dec. 6/2 So poor that she actually could not pay the hearing-fee. |
| 1725 Watts Logic ii. v. §1 Mediums which assist the Hearing, such as Speaking-Trumpets, *Hearing-Trumpets. 1856 Ld. Cockburn Mem. i. (1874) 41 A small hearing trumpet fastened by a black ribbon to a button-hole of his coat. |
8. hearing say, gerundial phr.: see hear v. 3 c.
▸ hearing-impaired adj. and n. orig. U.S. (a) adj.designating a person with hearing impairment or loss; hard of hearing; (b) n.(with the) hearing-impaired people collectively (with pl. concord).
| 1946 Charleroi (Pa.) 24 May 8/2 Favorable results are obtained if the special considerations that are shown the *hearing impaired child are done without calling attention to the defect. 1960 B. Morkovin Through Barriers of Deafness & Isolation i. ii. 12 (heading) Medical aspects of the hearing-impaired. 1995 Freedom (Canada) Spring 48/1, I had become Julie's confidante when she learned that my daughter, like herself, was hearing-impaired. |
▪ II. ˈhearing, ppl. a.
[f. hear v. + -ing2.]
That hears: see the verb.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 27989 Þe eres o þe herand. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xx. 12 The herende ere, and the seende eȝe. 1676 Wycherley Pl. Dealer iii. i, If it had not been for me, thou hadst been yet but a hearing counsel at the bar. 1884 A. J. Ellis in Athenæum 12 Jan. 55/1 A school..for teaching deaf-mute infants in..association with hearing infants. |
▸ hearing dog n. orig. U.S. (also more fully hearing-ear dog) a dog trained to alert the deaf or hard of hearing to such sounds as the ringing of an alarm, doorbell, or telephone; cf. seeing-eye dog at seeing adj. 2.
| 1978 N.Y. Times 21 Feb. 34/1 Representative Frederick W. Richmond Democrat of Brooklyn, yesterday urged the adoption of a federal program to train ‘*hearing dogs’ for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. 1979 N.Y. Times Mag. 20 May 111/1 A program for training hearing-ear dogs for the deaf originated about three years ago at the American Humane Association in Denver. 1992 Smithsonian June 12/1 If the animal-rights extremists win, we will have no guide dogs, bomb detection dogs, therapy dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, hearing-ear dogs. 2002 Western Gaz. (Electronic ed.) 24 Jan. Guest of honour at the event, which starts at 10.30am, will be Bentley, hearing dog to a Bournemouth woman. |
▪ III. hearing
obs. form of herring.