Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb hunting Of hounds, to
retrace a course in order to pick up a lost scent. - verb figuratively, US To return or revert (to a subject etc.), to allude to, to
evoke , to long orpine for (a past event or era).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb go back to something earlier
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Originally a hunting command, literally “Listen! Go back!”, thence a term to refer to the process. In the 19th century US became used in a figurative sense “to go back to an earlier point or topic in a discussion”. In 20th century American usage used more loosely for references to the past (often historical past, rather than earlier in a given discussion), particularly nostalgic.
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Examples
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shanvrolijk commented on the word hark back
The Newport system was quite widely criticized. It was seen by some as being old fashioned, perhaps even reactionary, harking back (hark back) to the dying traditions of magazine photojournalism within the publications Picture Post and Life magazine rather than aligning itself with contemporary trends and emerging practices within documentary photography.
http://societyforvisualanthropology.org/2016/11/var-supplements-patrick-sutherland-learning-documentary-photography-constructing-photo-essays-groups-photographs/
March 1, 2018