Going back

Add comment June 16th, 2008

Webster’s considers the verb “hearken” to be either “literary” or “archaic.” That means we ought to avoid it as much as possible.

Its only current application is in the phrase “hearken back,” meaning “to go back in thought or speech; revert.”

If you have occasion to use it, perhaps in a quote, the spelling “hearken” is preferred to “harken.”

Or you could go with “hark back.”