Herynge

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or faculty of perceiving sound through the ears ; a formal session in which a court or judge examines evidence
2. The ability to take in sound by listening ; an official proceeding where testimony is heard before a judge or tribunal
3. Perceiving sounds through the ear, as in listening closely ; a judicial session where witnesses and evidence are presented

Etymology: "Herynge" is a Middle English spelling of "hearing," a form that was spelled many ways before English settled on one. It comes from the Old English verb "hÄ“ran," meaning "to hear," which goes back to a Germanic root shared with German "hören" and Gothic "hausjan." Old English built nouns of action from verbs with the suffix "-ung" or "-ing," so "hÄ“ring" (or "gehÄ“ring") was the act of listening, and in medieval texts it could also mean a formal hearing before a court or assembly. Readers often assume the fish "herring" is related, since the two words were spelled alike in Middle English. They are not. The fish name is a separate Old English word, "hÄ“ring," whose origin is uncertain, and the similarity of spelling is a coincidence that later writers did little to untangle.