Ear. (Anglo-Saxon, eáre.)
By ear. To sing or play by ear means to sing or play without knowledge of musical notes, depending on the ear only.
Give ear to … Listen to; give attention to.
“I was all ear,
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Iʹll send you off wïth a fleà in your ear. With a cuff or box of the ear. The allusion is to domestic animals, who are sometimes greatly annoyed with these “tiny torments.” There seems also to be a pun implied—flea and flee.
⁂ The French equivalent is “Mettre la puce à lʹoreille,” to give one a good jobation.