listen after

English

Verb

listen after (third-person singular simple present listens after, present participle listening after, simple past and past participle listened after)

1. (transitive) To take notice of.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     She pricks up her ears to listen after the voice of her pursuer.

   • 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:

     Soldiers note Forts, Armouries, and Magazines; Scholars listen after Libraries, Disputations, and Professours.

   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     I will […] listen after Humfrey, how he proceedes.

References

• “listen”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.