Attent

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Archaic term meaning paying close heed to something, giving full notice or careful regard to what is happening
2. An old-fashioned adjective describing someone who is mindful, watchful, and closely listening or observing
3. Dated word for being fixed in close regard, alert and wholly directed toward a particular object or matter

Etymology: "Attent" is an English word meaning attentive, now mostly found in older or literary use. It comes from Latin "attentus", the past participle of "attendere", meaning "to stretch toward" or "to give heed to". That verb was built from "ad-" ("to") and "tendere" ("to stretch"), so the basic image is of the mind or the ear being stretched toward something. English took the word directly from Latin, which is why it keeps the stretching sense of its Latin source alongside the sense of close attention.

Synonyms: attentive, heedful

Antonyms: inattentive, heedless