hearken back
C1 formal inseparable intransitive
In simple words
To remind you of something from the past, or to look back at an earlier time.
Literal meaning: To listen back (hearken = listen, in archaic English).
Meanings
1 C1
idiomatic
formal
To evoke or refer to something from an earlier time, suggesting a connection with the past.
"Her musical style hearkens back to the jazz standards of the 1940s."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Formal and somewhat archaic. More common in literary, journalistic, and political contexts than everyday speech. 'Hark back to' is the more common modern variant. 'Hearken' itself means 'to listen' in archaic English, so the phrase originally meant 'to listen back.' Always followed by 'to.'
Commonly used with
to an era to a time to the past to tradition to earlier days to a simpler time
Forms
Base
hearken back
I/you/we/they
3rd person
hearkens back
he/she/it
Past simple
hearkened back
yesterday
Past participle
hearkened back
have + pp
-ing form
hearkening back
continuous
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