hark back

== English == === Etymology === From hark (“to listen attentively”) + back (“to or in a previous condition or place”, adverb), originally a hunting command to hounds meaning “Listen! Go back!”. === Pronunciation === Verb: (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌhɑːk ˈbæk/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˌhɑɹk ˈbæk/ Rhymes: -æk Noun: (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɑːkbæk/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhɑɹkˌbæk/ === Verb === hark back (third-person singular simple present harks back, present participle harking back, simple past and past participle harked back) (intransitive) (hunting) Of hounds: to retrace a course in order to pick up the lost scent of prey. (by extension) To return to where one has previously been; to retrace one's steps. Synonym: go back (figuratively) To allude, return, or revert (to a subject previously mentioned, etc.); also, to evoke, or long or pine for (a past era or event). [from 19th c.] Synonyms: harken back, hearken back (both sometimes proscribed); call back (transitive, hunting) To call back (hounds); to recall. ==== Usage notes ==== The forms harken back and hearken back have been used since the 1930s, and the bare form harken has been used since the 1980s, though some authorities frown on these and prefer the traditional form hark back. The eggcorn harp back (influenced by harp on) is occasionally found, but is generally regarded as an error. ==== Derived terms ==== hark-back (noun) ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== good old days, halcyon days === Noun === hark back (plural hark backs) Alternative form of hark-back. (hunting) An act of hounds retracing a course in order to pick up the lost scent of prey. (figuratively) An act of alluding, returning, or reverting (to a subject previously mentioned, etc.); also, an act of evoking, or longing or pining for (a past era or event). ==== Alternative forms ==== hark-back ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === “hark back, v.” under “hark, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020. “hark back, n.” under “hark, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2019. “hark back, phrasal v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. Merriam–Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1994, →ISBN, page 497.