Pays close attention to someone's advice or warning and acts on it.
From Old English 'hǽdan' (to pay attention to, observe). The word has remained remarkably stable for over 1,000 years, suggesting 'paying heed' has always been important to English speakers.
The phrase 'take heed' sounds ancient and formal today, but it literally just means 'pay attention'—it's a reminder that English used to pepper everyday speech with words like 'heed' that now sound like they belong in fantasy novels!
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