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hark back: msg#00013culture.language.word-of-the-day
**************************************************************** Announcing the new Merriam-Webster's Learner's Word of the Day--perfect for ESL students. It's free! http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/learner_signup.html **************************************************************** The Word of the Day for May 14 is: hark back \HARK-BACK\ verb 1 : to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance *2 : to go back to something as an origin or source Example sentence: The restaurant's art deco interior harks back to Paris in the 1920s. Did you know? "Hark," a very old word meaning "listen," was used as a cry in hunting. The master of the hunt might cry "Hark! Forward!" or "Hark! Back!" The cries became set phrases, both as nouns and verbs. Thus, a "hark back" was a retracing of a route by dogs and hunters, and "to hark back" was to turn back along the path. From its use in hunting, the verb soon acquired its current figurative meanings. In the early 20th century, English speakers began using "hearken back" and its variant "harken back" synonymously with the verb "hark back." (Like "hark," "hearken" and "harken" can mean "listen.") And since the 1980s, there's been another development: "harken" can now be used alone to mean "hark back." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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